UKstages

that's interesting. i live a few blocks away from the MCT and have never once heard it referred to as "the westside pier," mostly because there are many piers on the westside of manhattan. chelsea piers, pier 25, pier 26, pier 34, pier 40, pier 45, pier 46, pier 51, pier 57, pier 78, pier 84, pier 88, pier 90 ... which one is "the" westside pier?

all good suggestions about passports and flying in the day before (although this was apparently a multi-day weather event that could have seen flight cancellations the day prior). but if there were sixty people who were known by NCL to have landed at the airport and who were either en route to the terminal or already in the terminal... gosh, i would have held the ship... what would that be? a two hour delay? i'm not the captain. i can't assess the potential to miss ports or arrival times or docking windows. i don't know if the berth in miami was needed for another ship, but still... sixty or more NCL-affiliated travelers are headed to the ship or already at the port? NCL would have to have held the ship two or three hours versus spending hundreds of hours of NCL employees' time rebooking flights and managing customer dissatisfaction. and i don't know any ship, except maybe the getaway last week with its mechanical problems, that couldn't make up three or four hours. i would have held the ship. but, hey, maybe that's just me. i live on the edge.

every cruise i've been on the past year or so has had a printed and framed sign at guest services saying that the ship is fully booked and no upgrades or room reassignments are possible.

"wines around the world" actually kicks in at the platinum level.

on the getaway, you can usually drop (and claim check) your carry on bags in the casino.

that depends entirely on how much you play. they would prefer that a land-based casino subsidizes the play of ploppies... then they are guaranteed to have earned a minimum amount of money and will have covered their operating expenses. but if you have significant play, if you're a strong enough player to have earned comps with CAS, they would prefer to have you book through them and they would like to "own" that relationship. no... just no. CAS agents will often look to see if there is a certificate there when a customer is not worthy of a BOP (based on play) offer, or to see if the land-based casino certificate (which is almost always for a free cabin) is better than the CAS offer, but they are not told to "get somebody else to pay for the cruise." just... no. a thousand times no. no i don't think it's very well known at all.

we are all stoked for you! you know who's even more excited than us? the people who will be traveling with you. you'll find them here in the roll call for that cruise: not much activity there yet, but i'm sure things will pick up.

the agent wasn't being difficult. they have no insight into the price, in the same way that guests don't. my understanding is that the thermal suite pricing is dynamic and depends on a number of factors, including the number of days, ship, itinerary and the season. the pricing only becomes available once the reservation is booked, and only if you are 365 days or fewer from the sail date. if the vibe pricing is an indicator, passes tend to max out at ten days. so, a ten or fourteen day cruise would be the same price. i can't provide a price, though.

unless i'm mistaken, beetlejuice and donna are both still on their respective ships. people start rumors when online booking is unavailable or after a performance or two gets canceled on an individual sailing. but i have heard nothing about beetlejuice being permanently removed from the viva. (although it wouldn't surprise me if it happened within the next year... beetlejuice was the last of the big shows NCL ordered up before they shifted direction.)

yes, solo traveler here, too, and i feel your pain. i used to carry a sign with me: "table occupied. be back in five minutes." i no longer do that. now, i just go find another seat. works on almost every ship, except the prima (and presumably the viva), with its ridiculously small venue.

two words: smaller plates. more words: i often use dessert plates for buffet entrées, to limit intake. seriously. (pro tip: you can always go back for more.) any buffet management trying to limit food waste should put out smaller plates. i'm not saying they have to go down to dessert plates, but something smaller than a ten inch plate would be swell.

as well you should have; today's date is 3/23/24, so i don't think anybody is the slightest bit surprised by this. we are talking about changes that go into effect 4/1/24

yes, you're right. of course, you're absolutely a CAS customer. but your point of entry when using a certificate is your land-based casino. on your booking confirmation, it likely lists your casino company as the travel agent of record. i came to CAS that way, but i no longer use land-based casino certificates and always book directly through CAS using CAS offers or custom play-based offers from CAS. it makes no sense to create a division among casino players based on how you walked in the door. frankly, CAS would prefer you book directly through them... it's more cost efficient for them. so it would be odd for them to offer a strong incentive (e.g. free drinks) only to those using certificates. by the way, based on my prior conversations with NCL, and my personal experience, there is no need to pick up those cruise certificates in person. reserve the offer with the land-based casino and your name and account number and the virtual certificate will automatically be transmitted to NCL after the event... whether you show up to pick up the physical piece of paper or not.

and yet things seem to be changing. on my most recent cruise on the getaway, the very large buffet had a collection of items for lunch and dinner repeated at three or four different stations throughout the eatery. in other words, the available choices were cut by 50% or more. (at breakfast, it has always been common for items to be repeated in mor ethan one place on the buffet line.) and the indian food was extremely limited. there are too many reports fleet-wide, across all ship classes, of severe cutbacks in the buffet... too many to toss this up to the size of the ship. if anything, the array of food on the smaller ships now looks better because they are not repeating items as they are now on the mega ships. bananas on request? BANANAS?

i don't think they lied. little known fact: assuming that the land based casino giveaway event was attended by one of more NCL reps, those reps are usually... wait for it... NCL CAS PCCs. yes, that's right, the same people who answer your phone calls and dispense incorrect information on the daily. it's a "perk" of the job that every so often they get to travel to vegas or atlantic city or wherever and meet and greet those picking up certificates and answer any questions. but they have the same level of knowledge and understanding as everybody else. this is a new policy, not yet in effect, and there is widespread misunderstanding among NCL's own employees of what the policy means and how it will be rolled out and whom it will affect. so, they didn't lie, in my opinion, they just dispensed incorrect information, which they believed to be true... or they just made stuff up because they didn't know and were unfamiliar with the parameters of the new policy. it's absolutely possible. in booking, you just enter a different promo code, like the dozens of other promo codes in the promo thread in this forum. there's a drink card in your cabin... there is no magic to that drink card; it's just for show and identification purposes. it shows that you have free drinks and which level of free drinks you are entitled to. the bartender or server takes your actual room card and swipes that and then enters a code on the screen at the till. they could very easily enter that code for land-based casino certificate guests and not those booked directly with CAS. but, again, why would they do that? treat other people's customers better than their own? unless there is a contract provision in their deals with land-based casinos that says they have to provide free drinks, i just don't see this happening. i don't doubt it... but is that a guess or are you just imagining that is what it would be? for comparison, folks who rely upon the casino for water often get two cartons of water on their way out of the casino every night. those with ultra drink cards, get two bottles of pellegrino or aqua panna every night. so, on a 7-day cruise, we're looking at 6 cartons of water versus 14 cartons of water. on my last cruise on the getaway, the casino bar didn't stock pellegrino, so i asked a host to send me some. six bottles arrived in my room the next day, gratis. i imagine hosts will be doing more and more of this, with the new rules.

i know you're just being playful here, at least i think that's the case... but the butler would most likely not bring you a drink on the haven sundeck. that's not his job, anymore than it's his job to bring you a cocktail on the pool deck or in the theatre. he might call the servers on the sun deck and ask them to tend to you, but the butler won't be bringing you a drink. and if he did, as @cruiseny4life points out, there would likely be a charge, as there is for every alcoholic drink the butler brings to your stateroom. i never even consider buying vibe passes when staying in the haven, but there should be no debate... the service in the vibe is far superior to the service on the haven sun deck. also, a portion of the haven sun deck allows smoking, and that smoke travels... in the vibe there is no smoking... and, as many have mentioned, no kids.

unless NCL does a reversal, i'm pretty damn sure free drinks as we have come to know them, will no longer be available. no drink cards for anybody, no free drinks for CAS guests, no free drinks for those traveling on land-based casino certificates. (do we really expect them to treat other casino's customers better than their own? that makes no sense.) look, this is a horrible terrible mean and nasty thing they've done, but in practical terms, it affects very few people, since most people buy the drink package anyway, so they can have drinks outside the casino. what they've done is remove water and energy drinks on demand.

typically, OBC from the casino shows up after you board. you'll get a packet in your room containing your player's card, your drink card (oops!) and a card detailing any amenities you have from the casino. the card is just for show... the OBC will have been added to your folio. it's invisible (you won't see the credit on your TV screen when viewing your folio), but your charges will draw down against it.

well, yes, but when you click through to the site, it still shows that all CAS player levels, including "jade," still get free drinks! of course, there is no longer a jade level and there are no longer any free drinks! i encourage everybody to call, to write, to chat with the bot.

at any given time, i think NCL gives different promos to different affiliated sites. one airline might have free gratuities, while another is offering nonrefundable OBC. and then they might switch it up a month later.

how about a rotting rodent carcass? a spilled bottle of nail polish? an opened bag of cheetos? used bandages? where do you draw the line? you do a great job in your posts of minimizing the inconvenience of items left behind… but the problem with that is this: how do you know what’s in the drawer or under the bed unless you look in the drawer or under the bed? it’s the housekeeper’s responsibility to do that before you ever enter the room and remove items that may have been left behind. the effort is in the looking… it takes the same amount of time to remove a razor as a bag of cheetos or a pair of soiled underwear. you’re not bothered by a sock… how about dishes from a room service dinner consumed the night before? i can’t tell you the number of times I have stayed in a hotel or NCL cabin that had light bulbs that were burned out, or shower or sink drains that were clogged and needed to be snaked, or TVs that didn’t work. day after day, housekeeping staff makes up that room and never notices that the lights or TV don’t work or the drain needs to be snaked? in well run hospitality organizations, those things are reported to maintenance so that they can fix those problems before, or soon after, the guest arrives. and it’s on the checklist of things that are supposed to be done when the room is made up! similarly, in well run hospitality organizations, left behind socks and razors are removed by housekeeping. it’s their job to remove items from the closet and the drawers and under the bed. and to check for them! once again, this is not about shifting the focus to the guest and their behavior after a wayward item is discovered. the focus here is on the cabin attendants who don’t properly clean the room in anticipation of new guests.

if you get more than a 2% response from a direct marketing effort to targeted consumers, you've done extraordinarily well. less than 1% response rate is more the norm.

i just spoke to NCL's AI assistant. i encourage you to do so, too. i asked why NCL had decimated the casinos at sea loyalty program. the response i got: I'm sorry for any confusion, but as a team member, I must clarify that we have not decimated the Casinos at Sea program. In fact, we continuously strive to enhance our offerings to provide the best possible experience for our guests. Our "Free at Sea Plus" package is an upgraded version of the standard "Free at Sea" promotion, designed to elevate your cruise experience with a wider array of benefits and amenities. This upgraded package includes the following key features: Premium Plus Beverage Package: Enjoy top-shelf cocktails, spirits, beer, wine, Champagne, soft drinks, juices, bottled water, Starbucks® coffee, energy drinks, and more. More Specialty Dining: Access additional meals at the ship's specialty dining venues for a diverse and upscale dining experience. Unlimited Wi-Fi: Stay connected with unlimited internet access throughout your cruise. Additional Shore Excursion Credits: Receive extra credits to enhance your shore excursion experiences at various ports. Free Unlimited Open Bar: The popular Free Unlimited Open Bar option is still included in the "Free at Sea Plus" package, offering a variety of beverages. then i asked, "so, as an 'elite' player in the casinos at sea program, i still have free drinks?" the bot responded... As an elite player in the Casinos at Sea program, you may still be eligible for complimentary drinks while gaming in the casino. Our loyalty program is designed to reward our valued players with various benefits, including perks like free drinks for qualified participants. We understand the importance of providing a premium experience for our elite members, and complimentary drinks may be one of the benefits extended to you as part of the program. For specific details regarding the availability of free drinks for elite players in the Casinos at Sea program, we recommend reaching out to our customer service team or visiting our website for the most accurate and up-to-date information. Our team is dedicated to ensuring that our loyal players receive the benefits they deserve and can provide you with comprehensive details about the perks associated with your elite status in the program. so, there you have it! it could not possibly be more clear. the casino will provide free drinks for qualified players! just kidding. the bot was clueless and kept telling me i was invited to a cocktail party. i had to explain that party was a latitudes/cruise next event and had nothing to do with the casino. anyway, if you want some giggles and kicks, i recommend you engage the AI assistant in a spirited conversation about reduced benefits in the CAS loyalty program. if the conversation goes on long enough, the transcript will be provided to the AI team, so they can review the responses and train the assistant to answer casino questions properly. and the they will send them on to the casino team.

that would be an extraordinary take rate for any marketing effort. you believe 50% of those on any given ship are purchasing midweek special laundry services? i'd be surprised if more than 15% of guests paid for laundry to be done throughout the entire cruise. my spidey sense tells me it's probably far less than 10% of the ship.

i received an email from CAS today. what a joke. it's a rather effusive announcement promising an "all new" program "loaded with even more premium perks" and an elevated gaming experience. i'll tell ya... that takes a lot of cajones... for a copywriter to promise an elevated experience when all players have now been stripped of the program's foundation benefit. and it's apparently one email for all program participants, which is just lazy marketing. they know which level every player has achieved... they should be sending out customized emails for each tier level. instead, they sent an email to an "elite" player touting a new benefit of absolutely no relevance... "become a pearl member by earning 4,000 points." no mention of the drink program upgrade! there is also no explanation of how the new benefits are provided, there is no mention of drinks being eliminated for all, there's no way to provide feedback, there is no contact info provided (other than the general CAS phone number) and when you "click here for more information," you're taken to the standard CAS web page, which hasn't been updated and which still shows a jade loyalty level. and when you click through that to see a list of benefits by tier level, it still shows "complimentary house drinks while playing in the casino" as a core benefit. sloppy, sloppy marketing. i've said this before about other aspects of the NCL experience, but it's as if the casino organization is run by a couple of kids taking time off from their lemonade stand.