UKstages

26 minutes ago, purplecow15 said:

I can't find the cost of transfers without flight information which I don't have yet.TIA

i assume you're booked, correct?

go into your "vacation summary" online in your account. scroll down till you see the "transfers" tab. open it up and enter any flight number for a flight that occurs about the same time you'll be traveling. it doesn't have to be the flight you ultimately wind up on. you're not committing, you're just window shopping at this point.

bear in mind that NCL usually won't guarantee transfers for flights leaving earlier than noon. the cost of a transfer varies by city, from $25 - $75, if i recall correctly.  i haven't gone through civitavecchia, but based on distance, i'd guess it's closer to $75.

the "top floor" is new and is presumably the area formerly occupied by the laser tag facility?

if you are committed to staying at an LHR hotel, consider the hilton garden inn at terminal 2. (there are - confusingly - two LHR hotels that call themselves hilton garden inn at heathrow... why hilton corporate allows this, i do not know... guests are always booking themselves into the wrong property. and the other one is not conveniently located, although it bills itself as convenient to terminal 4.)

anyway, the "good" HGI is a short walk from terminal 2 and i often stay there after an overnight flight from new york. i get a few hours sleep, then take the tube into central london by late afternoon and on into the evening, then return by tube to the airport. the next day, i check in to my proper london hotel.

i wouldn't recommend using a heathrow hotel as a base of operations for more than a night or two. but, with the relatively new elizabeth line, you have three transportation options into central london... the piccadilly line is the slowest and cheapest and will take you about an hour. the elizabeth line (overground) will take about 40-45 minutes depending on where you're going. and the heathrow express will take about twenty minutes and will drop you at paddington station, at which you may possibly begin an outward rail journey to "somewhere charming outside of london," should you so desire.

1 hour ago, Chirphy6438 said:

I did reach out to Concierge yesterday and we DO get complimentary Breakfast & Lunch at Cagneys as well as Priority embark & Disembark, complimentary sparkling wine and several other things. When in doubt, call and ask directly. 

oh, dear.

well, that's generally good advice - to reach out and ask directly.

my best guess, however, is that the onshore pre-trip concierge has no idea what he or she is talking about and may not understand that the joy suites are treated differently than almost every other suite accommodation across the fleet.

based on my experience, you won't get a butler or most suite perks. what you will get is a lovely larger room, bathrobe(s), better bed linens and a pillow top mattress. you'll also get a phone number to a relatively absent concierge team who will deprioritize suite requests over haven requests and may not even respond to you for several days, if at all. 

there is no invitation to a private breakfast for suite passengers on the joy. nor is there any invitation to a private lunch for suite passengers on the joy. 

you can verify this by going online and doing a mock booking for the prima or almost any other ship, where you'll see in the suite description that you'll receive "invitations to exclusive breakfast/lunch." then go online and do a mock booking for another cruise on the joy for a penthouse suite; those words will not appear in the suite description. you can also compare the two suites to see the other missing benefits. 

or you could just call back until you get somebody knowledgeable.

i know how upsetting this must be... and you are right to be skeptical of anonymous information on the internet. but - unless something has changed in the past month or so - you won't be getting breakfast and lunch as a suite guest on the joy. plan accordingly.

4 hours ago, Chirphy6438 said:

We also just booked the Joy Penthouse suite SC for this May 2024...

 

Is the breakfast & Lunch in Cagneys permitted every day complimentary?

there is no breakfast or lunch in cagney's, complimentary or otherwise.

the joy is a lovely well run ship, one of my favorites. but when it comes to suites, it's an oddball. most of the suite perks were stripped away from the suite category a couple of years ago. those booking suites get a nicer, larger room and not much else. you will not get an invitation to breakfast and lunch in a specialty restaurant.  

there will be a letter in your suite from the concierge... same concierge and team that handles the haven. you can reach out to get details on priority disembarkation. the concierge will, for the most part, be otherwise invisible.

47 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

The posted dailies clearly show that the OL serves breakfast.

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. 

1 hour ago, davencl said:

Was on the Gem last August.  Saw none of the issues reported. Ship is in great shape.  Wouldn't hesitate to sail again.

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.

41 minutes ago, purplecow15 said:

There were several kinds of cookies on offer in the Great Outdoors every afternoon.

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.

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.

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.

3 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

You've also never cruised in a suite or Haven, so you don't know how it feels to walk into the restaurant with every server/hostess saying "Hello, Sir A-Aron." 

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.

2 hours ago, meglet said:

Based on my experience on Gem 2 years ago and the Pearl last August, it is NOT the same as the posted Haven lunch menu.

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.

3 minutes ago, debenson0723 said:

I will typically take 50euros for a 2 week trip and come home with 30.

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.

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.

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.

4 hours ago, MohrPfun said:

I’m a FlyerTalk regular

i'm on flyertalk as well, and i'd have to agree with your assessment!

2 hours ago, DCwom said:

I heard it may not be the best NCL ship.

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.

55 minutes ago, furrrball said:

Any info would be appreciated 

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.

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.)

4 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

I'm never without my phone...

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!

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.

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.

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.

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.

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

I know if I were on board and it was announced the ship would be delayed for some unknown amount of time because some people did not make their flights because of weather (or any reason), I would be upset at the prospect of a delay where no one knew if or when the flights would arrive.

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.

1 hour ago, graphicguy said:

I don't know what a "straw man argument" is!

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.  

yes, the salad bar in moderno is used for the breakfast buffet portion of the meal service.

(full haven breakfast menu available in addition.)

On 3/11/2024 at 1:33 PM, julig22 said:

Not going to argue with you, believe what you want. Evidence and experience says nothing that involves pre-payment is held back.

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.

14 minutes ago, cruisinpips said:

I can attest to no vibe passes available after boarding.

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!