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UKstages

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  1. i'll take your personal experience over what's posted in a free style daily, any day of the week... and twice on sundays. we've heard about food disappearing from the OL in other threads as well. the dailies are notorious for misprints, typos and not updating erroneous information. when i sailed into southampton last year, the daily included disembarkation instructions for new york. the daily is not the new york sun! in other words, virginia, if you see it in the daily, it ain't necessarily so.
  2. ship is indeed in great shape. i wouldn't hesitate to sail it again either. but august was six months ago. there have since been massive F&B cutbacks cross the fleet and NCL has undertaken a strategic plan that has devalued many components of the guest experience. i think comments and reviews from folks who have sailed recently provide important feedback and data points... these folks are better able to report on what guests are currently seeing, hearing and receiving. i'm sure there were, as there have been many recent reports of cookie sightings in the great outdoors, including in this thread. that seems to be the go to spot on the ship for cookies! prior to NCL cutbacks, however, cookies were available in many places throughout the ship, not just the great outdoors.
  3. of course, NCL's newest smaller ships are actually still considered megaships at over 3,000 guests. and, even if we assume a smaller ship benefit in docking, it should be noted that neither the prima nor the viva sail through alaska, south america or asia.
  4. regarding cookies... there are credible reports that the availability of cookies has been hit or miss (mostly miss) in the past few months. i witnessed this myself on the getaway a couple of months ago. they were removed from the buffet. you can usually get cookies on request in certain venues and they are still delivered as in-room amenities in the haven and suites and delivered to your cabin as treats from the casino. but they are largely gone form the observation lounges on most ships, from the buffet and from the casino VIP areas. you really do have to go searching for cookies, or befriend somebody in food and beverage management. so, the lack of cookies on the gem seems to me to be a legit and credible complaint.
  5. often, i don't see comments unless somebody quotes them. i'll leave it to your imagination as to why that is. in this case, it's not that some folks have never cruised in a suite or the haven... it's something else altogether, unique to some posters. they like to tilt at windmills and fight straw men. no reasonable person would believe that "they know what you like" means your server can predict what you'd like to eat on any given evening. it means, of course, that they know whether you take cream in your coffee or like it black (or don't drink coffee at all). they know whether you like your scotch neat or on the rocks. they know that you want your salad without tomatoes and that you like your steak rare. they know that you prefer a sprite zero and don't drink diet coke. and that you think there is no such thing as too many lemons when seafood is being served. i must strongly disagree with your last point, however. in point if fact, most people have no idea what it's like to be greeted by somebody saying "hello, sir a-aron." so i wouldn't scold anybody for that. mr. burr, mr. spelling, mr. copland and mr. sorkin probably hear or heard "hello, sir a-aron." quite frequently... but most of us truly have no idea what that's like. i was also on the gem two years ago. it was actually my first haven experience. (they say you always remember your first.) i remember having cobb salad for lunch, on embarkation day. and at least one other time on that trip. i couldn't tell you whether lobster bisque was on the menu or not. i don't remember having it. i do remember vividly that the menu was branded "haven" even though the meal service was shared by both suites and haven guests.
  6. same here... it's become impossible to spend cash. i take the same euros and pounds with me on every trip. and then i bring them home. they have as many frequent flyer miles as i do.i was in london a couple of months ago and nobody wanted cash. everything is a swipe.
  7. one of the most interesting things here (there are many) is that folks are very willing to accept anonymous online reports of there being no vibe availability as "proof" that the vibe is not offered on NCL ships on embarkation day. but they reject other anonymous online reports from people who were able to buy the vibe on NCL ships on embarkation day.
  8. much of europe, including greece, is cashless... nearly everywhere, but particularly tourist meccas. even most pay toilets accept credit cards. many places wont accept cash at all.
  9. the ship is fine. it's the predominantly american crew that's the problem. they don't have the same customer-focused spirit as the international crew members found on other ships.
  10. it's up to the local port authorities as to whether you have to get off the ship. sometimes you do, sometimes you don't. and it can change from cruise to cruise, even at the same port. you'll receive a letter, as noted above, with full instructions. if you're required to leave the ship, all the B2B guests will have a central meeting point, such as a club or restaurant... and you'll all walk off the ship together and be taken back onboard together before new guests are brought on board. in most ports, you can go explore the town, if you choose, and be back on board by the specified time. they will give you an "in transit" sticker to wear, to let people on the ship and in the terminal know you're a B2B guest. this will help speed your way directly to security when you return to the ship, should you decide to spend time in town. if you have the same cabin on both cruises, there is no need to pack. you can leave everything as is in your room. you can get new cards at guest services, although you may not have to if you have the same cabin. people report different procedures on different B2B cruises... sometimes the card is coded for both cruises, sometimes it's not. the letter you receive in your cabin should explain everything.
  11. wait. what? you're saying that there are those on cruise critic who doubt your personal lived experience? fortunately, i haven't experienced such a thing. (in the last hour or so.)
  12. you just said you leave it on the table as you explore the buffet! what happens if you see hash browns or cookies? nobody will ever believe it without that all important photo!
  13. NCL.com currently states that smoking is permitted on the breakaway on deck 15 mid-ship on the port side (designated area only) and in spice H2O (starboard side only). however, it still says that smoking is permitted in spice H2O on the getaway and we know that not to be true.
  14. huh? i have no concerns whatsoever. i'm a pretty happy go lucky guy. i myself am not concerned about availability or price. my only concern was answering your question! the OP is unable to check his reservation, as you just have, because the OP does not yet have a reservation, as you do. that was kind of the entire point of the thread... how to determine the price of the thermal spa when you have no insight because you have no reservation. sadly, it can not be done reliably.
  15. lunch is still in cagney's (including embarkation day). it's nice to go to dinner at cagney's (by paying or using a meal credit), after being served by the same team at lunch. it's like walking into cheers... everybody knows your name and what you like. and they bend over backwards to make your dinner extra special.
  16. as a CAS guest, you can use CAS check-in. it's a modest benefit of minimal value, but it's something. as for cruises embarking on 3/31... strictly speaking, that ain't april 1st. but nobody knows what they will do. my best guess is they will not provide a drink card or free drinks (including water and soda) since almost the entire cruise takes place during the new window. they basically could do three things... • give you free drinks for the entirety of the cruise • give you one day of free drinks and revoke the privilege on april 1st • give you no free drinks i'm not a betting man (see what i did there?), but my best guess is that they will go with the third option.
  17. i was on a ship recently where this very thing happened. i forget whether it was the getaway or the joy. the captain held the ship for about an hour and.a half. i don't think anybody would support a delay of unknown duration "where no one knew if or when the flights would arrive." in this case, again, they reportedly had 60 or more people in the terminal. i think they knew those passengers could most likely be processed and boarded within an hour or so. if either of those things is not true, then, no, of course the ship should not have been held. a straw man argument is when somebody presents something that nobody could possibly find fault with (in defense of their strongly held position), but which actually has nothing to do with the issue being debated. it is so thinly constructed and has so little to do with the issue, that it is said to be made of straw; in other words, it can easily be shot down and dismantled, because it has no substance, much like a man made of straw. saying that one is being chastised because NCL can't control the weather or flight delays is a classic straw man argument because nobody is seriously arguing either of those points. what they're saying is true... NCL can't control the weather or flight delays... so it seems as if whoever says that is providing important factual data.. it seems like they are advancing their argument... but they're not. because the points they make are not disputed and have nothing to do with the actual issue being discussed.
  18. yes, the salad bar in moderno is used for the breakfast buffet portion of the meal service. (full haven breakfast menu available in addition.)
  19. i'm going by my evidence and my experience and NCL's stated policy... which has been stated to me by the people who sold me the vibe passes on embarkation days. again, my evidence and my experience is that i have been able to purchase the vibe onboard on embarkation day. by all means, believe what you want. i can attest to the opposite... vibe passes being held back and available on embarkation day! on several occasions. now, i haven't sailed all ships, and i haven't sailed the escape, and it's certainly possible that individual ships make their own rules independent of NCL's policy, but i'm here to tell you... vibe passes on embarkation day in the year of our lord 2024 ain't no urban legend. shout it from the rooftops!
  20. you ought to read the whole thread. skip the comments from posters you don't trust or admire or whom you believe are conspiracists. following your own advice of looking like a duck and quacking like a duck, i'd say there is a 99.54% chance this is not spam.
  21. sadly, this is a real thing. people lick batteries, most likely motivated by a series of popular youtube "instructional" videos. i think we're all in agreement that NCL can't control the weather. that's a straw man argument. nobody is insisting that NCL is responsible for the weather nor is anyone saying that NCL is responsible for flight delays. there is a legitimate debate taking place here as to what the appropriate response should be when 60 or more travelers are en route from the airport or actually at the dock, waiting to board. should the ship have waited? or was the correct move to depart without those passengers? which strategy would have caused the most inconvenience and expense for the passengers onboard and those en route, as well as NCL?
  22. oh, geez. that's a whole lot of conjecture and "what ifs." here's a few more... what if the porters are indeed unionized? you're right! they probably do have their set rules and work days. and they probably have a contract that protects them when they are required to work overtime. i say required because none of these jobs are 9 - 5 jobs. that's not what they signed up for. they know they are in a business in which the workday is not done until they're told it's done... typically when the ship they're working on pulls away. what if that ship was seven hours late getting into miami... would you still feel it was unfair to ask the porters to stay to unload the baggage and load it for the new guests who will be leaving at least seven hours late? you've apparently only thought through one side of the equation. the same operating principles that ensure port workers are there for you when you arrive late ensure that port workers are there when flights get delayed. don't you worry about the porters in either case. they'll be making an extraordinary amount of overtime. and i never met a union guy or gal who didn't love overtime. ditto the harbor pilot, the check-in agents, the "luggage screeners" and the "cruise port staff." they know what this work entails and they know that they didn't sign up for a 9 - 5 gig. it's in their employment agreement that they may have to work as assigned and may be "held over" in times of need. there may be a lot of valid reasons to justify the captain leaving on time and not waiting for those impacted by air delays. saying that the port workers turn into pumpkins if they don't get home by a certain hour isn't one of them. you'd think we wouldn't have to do that. little known fact: baskin robbins least popular flavor ever was something called "battery acid and cream."
  23. she may have said that and others may have called it that, but NCL no longer has such a thing. they have renamed it "glow." "take part in norwegian cruise line's newest and most illuminating party at sea. we’ve amped up our party so much, it glows. wear neon or white and let the DJ take the night to the next level."
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