ChiefMateJRK

Because the Joy only has 21 days between cruising, and I just don't believe that they can demo and install 24 cabins in that time frame (regardless of availability of previous electric/plumbing/HVAC infrastructure). I also can't imagine why ship's officers would be sharing this kind of strategic planning information with passengers if it hadn't previously been publicly reported. I don't believe that we've seen any such reports. Thanks for sharing more of the story. I really hope that those officers were misinformed (we know that internal communication at NCL is at times spotty), but I'll be following along closely. I currently have a pair of B2B's booked on the Joy in 2024 and 2025 and might very well cancel both if they screw up the OL. Both are in cooler weather and I really don't want to fight crowds in a mini-OL. Fortunately, the Joy has the forward facing buffet and the Brew House to provide some mitigation. We sailed the Joy to Canada last October and despite the ship sailing at less than full capacity, the OL was often at or near full capacity.

This is how cabin waiting times are to be measured for all future cruises. My first cruise in April had a nominal two beer wait, but that's because I had two beers at lunch even though the cabin was ready. The next cruise (second leg of the B2B) had a negative 63 beer wait, because my cabin was ready seven days ago. Most cruises run about a two to three beer wait.

Well, I guess we'll know a year from now when the Joy either does or doesn't have a shrunken OL.😎

I just did. I'm pretty sure I've posted my positive experiences here previously, but I really can't say for sure and it really doesn't make any difference. The only thing I didn't really like about the Sky was their small musical acts in the various lounges and bars. Of course, within a month after my sailing Alexa showed up on the Sky. Crappy timing by @ChiefMateJRK!

I've heard that you can book and pre-pay a SHOREX and then have the original amount refunded to your on-board account (as refundable OBC), and they recharge it to pick up your non-refundable OBC. I kind of did this on our last cruise, and it worked, but that was a SHOREX cancellation by NCL and a rebook by me. I'm planning to try this again this summer on a cruise where I've prebooked three SHOREX.

Yeah, I was asleep at the wheel for too long. If I had acted when cruising resumed (and the stock was still in the toilet) I would have saved even more. I think there were three post-Covid cruises where I could have benefitted but didn't. Oh well, better late than never.

Yep. I'm now two hundred bucks in the black on my sixteen hundred dollar gamble. If I didn't plan to use the NCL OBC benefit indefinitely, I would sell immediately!🤣 Actually, if you count the three times I've used the $100 OBC, I guess I'm up $500 (with more to come later this year!). I love the NCLH shareholder free money. 😎

I was on the Sky Jan/Feb in an inside cabin. We had a great time! 😎

Yep. They actually had them at the checkin counters in Seattle in April. They were NOT in plain sight, and I had to ask for one.

You might be. My carryon "luggage" consists of a backpack. I just toss it on the seat of my booth in the Local next to me and immediately begin enjoying my cruise. On the Bliss in April, our cabins were immediately available when we boarded at 10:00 am. I still just went straight to the local for my first beer. We made it to the cabin eventually (I honestly don't remember when). I get it that some find this unacceptable, but "hate" is a pretty strong word.

So what? I have a great time on NCL cruises and have no reason to roll the dice. Unlike some, I highly respect the opinions of other experienced cruisers (at least those who display a sense of humor and seem to enjoy life), and we have an ample supply of such seasoned NCL cruisers (cheerleaders?) right here in this forum.😎

I thought we all looked forward to our next cruise. Don't you?

My position remains unaltered. 🤣

In my experience Taste/Savor won't open until 12:00. I think the Local opens at 11:30. The Buffet at 11:00.

Exactly. When have I posted anything comparing NCL to other cruise lines? Why don't you review all of my posts and report back: ChiefMateJRK's Content (cruisecritic.com)

It sounds like you have a LOT of issues. You should probably find a better way to spend your holidays.

Really? I've never seen such a thing. Can you post an example or two?

Yeah, same here. If you ever see me pay $200 for a shot of anything, please throw me overboard. That's beyond drunk. That's a mind that has gone on permanent vacation.

Sure, but what does it take to alienate a customer? Pull a stunt like that OL thing on Prima? Sure. Cancel a cruise a year out and provide FCC? Maybe, maybe not. Take away my towel animal and bed turn down? Not this cruiser, but there's always the fragile fringe.

That's nice if you had some compelling reason to be in your cabin the first few hours of a cruise. Personally, that's the last place I want to be, but I'm apparently in the minority.

Yeah, but they pretty much hang in the Casino, which is still available to all. They don't take over my OL.

Yes and the bottom line still prevails. Those who killed it get replaced. The fact that Bud and Target had leaders who made really stupid decisions doesn't change the fact that they exist for the stockholders, not the customers. To your point, it's a delicate balancing act, and every risky decision may wind up revenue positive, revenue neutral or revenue negative at the end of the day. NCL? Well, the jury is still out on some things. Will the money saved by reduced staff outweigh the bookings lost (or sold at lower margins)? We'll never know. I personally don't care if NCL ever makes another dime for the shareholders, as long as the ships keep sailing. The same of course cannot be said of the corporate officers. Generate returns to the investors or be replaced.

If they don't, they're stupid (not ruling that out).

Not necessarily. I won't book a ship without a nice OL. That's less revenue, not more.

We did it on the Encore in April without issue. Hopefully they didn't really change this.