wil e coyote

Personally, I am firmly in the camp of those who cruise to get away from work and the internet. But that doesn't mean my perspective is the only correct one. To the OP and others who believe faster internet onboard is important, I suggest you send your opinion directly to NCL, if you haven't already done so. As far as I know, NCL leadership doesn't monitor these discussion boards.

I'm pretty sure this is sarcasm...@BirdTravels please correct me if I misread you...

I agree with this! To be fair, I don't think it is just NCL who creates the scheduling pressures, but NCL is the one touting "Freestyle cruising." I find the sea day Freestyle Dailies to be especially ironic - they say "Feel free to follow the sun instead of a schedule," but then have 3 pages of scheduled events! Now, to be fair, I know that I can choose to ignore all those scheduled events, and just wander the ship as I please. I can go to the buffet or O'Sheehan's or call room service any time I feel hungry. So I CAN actually have no schedule. But there is a lot of pressure to make those reservations for everything from shore excursions to specialty restaurants to shows to art classes. It's an interesting dynamic...

Piling on here, we were on the Epic in 2020 just before the great shutdown, and really enjoyed it. I'd describe the bathroom and cabin layout as quirky, but note terrible. In fact, if people stopped complaining about it on CC, I'd probably forget about it altogether. Any cruise ship (especially on NCL) is better than a day in the office!

Thanks @weltek! We'll get this thread back on topic if it's the last thing we do! 🤪 I LOVE balconies - even small ones. For me there is nothing like sitting out there by myself first thing in the morning with a book and a cup of coffee. Lots of times I get so wrapped up looking at the birds/ flying fish/ocean that I don't bother with the book. The sound of the ocean totally makes the balcony worth it for me - but that is just my opinion...😉

I agree with you on this point. I don't understand why NCL doesn't refund the port fees if they end up not docking in a port.

I tried really hard to scroll by this, but...I...just...can't...today. This falls in the category of "big bad companies are out to get us" conspiracy theories. I guess there are people who think that companies have departments devoted to coming up with new ways to sc#@w their customers, rather than the alternate view that these companies are trying to deliver what they advertised, but stuff happens. Every time a change like this happens, I am guessing it drives call volumes and complaints, so there is actually a disincentive to change the itinerary. I'm certainly not trying to defend NCL or any specific company - I just get irked by the default assumption that something nefarious is going on. (I understand the OP did not make this assertion, but it was made by someone(s) on another board.) I agree this is not the world's most informative statement, but it is true. And it saves the folks at NCL from having to re-craft their letter every time they have to send one out. I know others would prefer more details, but the details don't really change anything.

Yes, the days of waiters marching through the MDR with flaming baked Alaskas seem to be gone for good...

Quite possibly! I see you also spent some time in Yellowstone which is probably my favorite place (so far) in the US!

And also, often, CC...🤪

This is a tough one for me. My "I'm on vacation, don't bother me with stuff" mindset likes the fact that I don't have to stop what I am doing, put on my life vest, and schlep to my muster station with 100+ of my closest friends. At the same time, my father-in-law once told me to always understand what could go wrong and make sure I was ready to deal with that. He was an industrial carpenter all his life and never had any accident more serious than a small cut to his thumb. He was a wise man. Using his logic, it would be smart for me to know how to get from my cabin the the muster station just in case bad stuff happens. Low likelihood, but high consequence. So it depends on when you ask me...

Thanks for steering back to the topic, @chengkp75! Given that you are (as I understand it) a long-time ship's engineer, I can see why you would have this view. But I am sure others disagree... 🤪

That's good to know - thanks. So apparently it was our waiter who didn't get the memo...

To be fair, they had two - Bud Light and the other beer I cannot remember. But I agree with your question. How can O'Sheehans not have anything Irish? Even Guinness?

O'Sheehans had nothing special. We went there for a meal and asked for their draft beer list - it was short - Bud Light! I passed on that. I think I had a Stella or a Heineken. I really think they had Boddington's ESB at O'Sheehans pre-pandemic, but my memory might be faulty.

We were on the Breakaway in June and I was really disappointed by the beer selection. Nothing/zero/nada in terms of craft beers. In most places, the only thing on tap was Bud Light. Maltings (next to Syd Norman's) had one additional beer on tap, but the name of it escapes me. I was only able to find one IPA (Goose Island). I switched over to mixed drinks for most of the cruise, which is very unusual for me...

Off topic, but there was a D'Angelos and a pho place near my office in CT! The D'Angelos is gone, but the pho place is still doing well.

Penny slots? 😉

This. All day long!

This is a fair question - but I doubt there is any process NCL could use that would make everyone happy. The Vibe is, by definition, limited in size and occupancy. If it were not, no one would pay for it, and making money is what NCL is in business to do. So they have to limit who is there. I thought about a few ways they could do this: -Auction-style bidding - no one with a modest vacation budget would like this -Priority based on Latitudes status - no new cruisers would ever get passes -Lottery - the winners would like this, but the losers would not -Land rush (until recently, the only way to get passes) - favors those who can get to the port early -Purchase on-line (new method) - favors those who plan ahead, if you know about it I could go on, but I think this makes the point. I'm personally very glad NCL isn't prioritizing based on Latitudes status, or cabin class, as they do for so many other things.

This is very interesting. There have now been two topics on this thread (Haven and gambling) where there are people who like X, and others who don't like X, and several pages have been spent of people trying to convince each other why their opinion of X is correct. (I know, this is a controversy thread, so maybe I should expect that...) But in both cases, whether you partake in X or not is an individual choice. That is one of the things I like best about cruising - there are many different ways to enjoy it. Gamble, or don't. Drink, or don't. Go on shore excursions, or don't. Stay in the Haven, or don't. Eat, or don't (well, OK, that might be tough.) My ideal cruise would be incredibly uninteresting for others, and vice versa. And that's OK. It's my cruise. You enjoy yours (whatever that look like.) I'll enjoy mine. Cruise well.

I don't actually think this is true of most Haven guests - but is seems to fit the discussion...🤣

I think it is that the exit is not well-marked. We were there in June, and decided to do our own thing - we had to really look to find the exit from the port. Or maybe things had already opened up somewhat by June...

We've sailed on Princess twice, both times because of the itinerary, and both times with our (then) teenage sons. We were on the Regal in 2018 for a Caribbean cruise. Overall, I think NCL and Princess are very comparable. Stateroom sizes are similar for balconies and inside staterooms. We thought the food was comparable, with perhaps a slight edge to Princess. Princess definitely had a better selection of beers than NCL! Our sons weren't really into the "teen scene," so I can't comment on that, but they certainly felt comfortable on the Princess cruises. One other fun thing about Princess is that they run "The Love Boat" on one of the TV channels, which we like! I think the pricing on NCL is a bit better, but for us, Princess is a definite viable alternative. Enjoy!

I also agree - if I somehow had confidence that higher fares were actually resulting in better pay for the staff. The work ethic of the cruise staff is amazing - it puts me to shame, and people tell me I am a hard worker. They earn every dime they are getting paid and then some.