cruiseny4life

24 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

No dice for me yet.  My PCC told me that they opened up the Vibe cabanas for dates in the future, but not for the ones in the coming weeks and we are on the June 2nd sailing.     He reassured me, once again, that he does check daily.   He is going to speak with his Supervisor for advice.   

 

And yes, this trip we are traveling with our young adult children, their significant others and extended family.   We all have had our Vibe passes since July 2022!

 

Thank you for touching base with me the information you were able to obtain and yes, we will not cruise on a larger ship without the Vibe passes!

Well that's just silly!! Here's hoping you actually get access to Vibe Cabanas shortly!

Joy, way back in March 2023, is where I tried buffet coffee for the first and only time. I'm a firm believer in super strong coffee - the kind that is as black as black can be and has about three times as many grounds as recommended. Joy's coffee was weak, pungent, and not quite amber in color. It's a hard pass for me - granted that's a one off. I also don't get Starbucks coffee - burnt, overpriced, and I'm not a fan of their labor practices. 

Have you ever cruised before?

While I would prefer cruise lines use the space for casinos for something different, the mainstream cruise lines all have casinos that take up pretty much the entirety of at least one deck. 

I'm hoping by calling, it'll work for you! I do see online that Joy Vibe Cabana's should be bookable now at a cost of $599 (7 days) which is for guests one and two. If you have more (I think you're traveling with more family) in the stateroom, you'll need to also purchase a Vibe pass for them. 

Good luck! I hope it works for you as I know Vibe makes your vacation complete!

EDIT: Vibe is bookable for sailings through 12/31/2025 which I think will work for you. But, in case you're trying to score 2026 Vibe Cabana, patience!

8 hours ago, bedfordmom said:

Did you get anything at the grocery store. Most interesting things to bring home ( or eat ) are chocolate and all types of  black licorice and salt. There is even a Costco located near the airport if you are a member that had just opened when we were there in 2019. Just loving your review as well everyone else’s experiences. It is helping with my TA withdrawal. 

If we ever go to Iceland, I'm so not telling my husband this. He'll demand we go get a hot dog and pizza at Costco. I don't know what culinary delights Iceland has 👨‍🍳, but I'm going to have whatever those are, not some silly hot dog! 🍽️

EDIT: Ok...reading on with the review, apparently hot dogs are quite the...uhhh..."thing" in Iceland. I didn't realize. No offense intended to those that enjoyed the sauce covered hot dog. @Sugar Magnolia - despite me not wanting to offend everyone that had the hot dogs, I'm still going with you to your lunch place!

2 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

These are not my gripes... these were from the OP 9 pages back who farted and left the building for the rest of us locked inside to smell.

 

Maybe because I show up a bit later in the day, but the last few times I've arrived for a cruise there were a half dozen Haven employees standing around waiting for us to decide we wanted to go on the ship. So again, depending on the time of day, they're either super busy or doing nothing at all.

Don't worry! I'm with you...NCL absolutely could do a heck of a lot more than they are doing. Regardless of what others believe. They obviously don't read posts, official websites, etc. I also don't see anyone (other than you and I) trying to look at the root cause. I doubt NCL is looking at the root cause either. They have a lot more pull over port operations than some here would lead you to believe...but I suppose that's because they're experts. NCL needs to be updating the service standards in contracts. And that's all I'll probably say on the topic as I'm not going to get into he said/she said/xe said/they said! 

And heck, that's even assuming there are really all these issues. Certainly, I know of at least one since I was a part of it...waiting three hours, while others waited eight to board Getaway. What an introduction to NCL! I'm still here though....I'm still wishing NCL would do better (but I can't really complain about embarkation, except that one time). 

On 5/5/2024 at 12:02 AM, umaine89 said:

Back on this Hawaii thing. I am going to go into MBA mode for a minute, so feel free to skip over this post.
 

I am amazed how fast NCL stopped sailing in Hawaii. It must have been a horrendous business decision to start with.

This is what I think about NCL's plan when they put Joy together and sent her to the Pacific. It wasn't long before they spent a boatload of money to convert her to a more western crowd, twice. I would have been so interested to see the analysis that made them think Asia was a good market. I'm not saying anything they did was wrong, but with 20/20 it was a poor decision. It could be an interesting HBR case study. 

On 5/5/2024 at 12:15 AM, umaine89 said:

I am operating with no dinner reservations so I appreciate the board telling me how busy things are. 

 

Dinner at Sushi 11/10. Couldn’t have been better. With the meal package you get to order any 4 things on the menu. I was stuffed. 

 

 

Yes that was all free for one speciality dining credit. 
 

For $210, I got upgraded internet, upgraded free drinks package and 2 more speciality dinners (3 total). I have had multiple calls and the reception is fine (I have t mobile WiFi calling). I have been able to drink whatever I want and they give me two at a time. And the two speciality dinners so far have been awesome. That is the best $210 I have ever spent. 

Love this dinner photo. Yum! I have found NCL's wasabi to be lacking, though. The quality of the sushi has been good. I'm definitely jealous of your dinner! I need some sushi - maybe later this week when my husband and I take a couple extra days from work. 

Also - so glad you're enjoying your trip! 

15 hours ago, laudergayle said:

Sushi looks delish.  Question.  I have to use wifi calling at home due to a weak VZ signal.  If I have the unlimited NCL internet snd my phones wifi calling turned on…can I make wifi calls to anyone?  We will be in AK so it’s not considered international?  What do you think?

I know we're not talking the same ship, but I've had mixed results with Wi-Fi calling. In 2022 I had a Samsung Galaxy S22+. The Wi-Fi calling from the Atlantic, on Getaway, between NYC and Bermuda worked just fine! And, thankfully, since we had to talk with our home inspector about the report he created when we were traveling. 

In 2023, on Joy, with Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, the Wi-Fi calling did not work. We were traveling the Western Caribbean on this trip. 

I'm not sure if the phones, shipboard internet, location on the globe impacted the connectivity, but it definitely was not working on that second trip. 

I didn't try on Pr1ma, so can't speak to that ship. I think you're on Jewel...actually, aren't you on right now? Or is it May 13th? 

On 5/4/2024 at 9:02 AM, itsnotjustme said:

Oddly, on the NCL web site all the OV and balcony cabins were guarantee only.  With my travel agent, I could pick my cabin.

This happens a lot! I'm glad you knew to talk with a travel agent so you could select the cabin you wanted. 

On 5/3/2024 at 9:10 PM, FitchburgWIFamily said:

When someone doesn’t scan back on board, they make an announcement over the PA on the ship:  passenger Doe, John and Doe Jane please contact guest services.  So this couple’s family heard that and didn’t put down their margaritas to go help?  Even if the ship wouldn’t let them disembark they could have helped pack a go bag and call the couple on shore to explain the next steps.  

Perhaps they were happy not to have the couple back onboard and didn't rush to assist as the cruise was about to become much more pleasant for them? 🙂 

On 5/3/2024 at 9:10 PM, FitchburgWIFamily said:

Example I would have sympathy for someone who posted “we got back late to the port and missed the ship. We tried to contacting the port representative at the number provided and couldn’t get an answer.  We ended up having to catch a cab to go into town on our own to find someone who could help us make travel arrangements to the next port.”

Agreed! I'd be empathetic toward the couple as I've been left behind too (my parents often lament they found me when I got lost at the NYS Fair many moons ago)! I definitely know how it feels to be "left" behind.

On 5/3/2024 at 4:40 PM, BirdTravels said:

The Thermal suite opens at sailaway. Prior to that, the spa personnel are busy selling Thermal Suite passes and constantly opening the sauna doors to show people around. 

On 5/4/2024 at 4:10 AM, YVRteacher said:

On my recent cruise on the Breakaway the spa opened at 5:00pm on embarkation day. It was open from 8am-10pm every other day except the final evening it closed at 8pm.

Thank you both for the confirmation I'm not going totally crazy...yet! 

6 minutes ago, JandC_Cruising said:

For all our past 6 cruises with the Thermal Suite pass, the Spa (and Thermal Suite) have been open upon boarding on day1.  

On our last Getaway cruise, day 1 hrs were in the daily as 11am to 11pm

We've never run straight there, but have been there as early as 1pm on Embarkation day.

 

The spa is fully staffed with people trying to provide tours and book services.

If you have a Thermal Suite pass, you can use the area right away.  Just be aware that the first afternoon will be a bit noisy from all the sales pitch tours that get walked through the space.  So it will not be as "chill" as it will be for the balance of your cruise.

The therapy pools and rooms however feel just as delightful!

 

All other days were 8am to 11pm...we often go there just after breakfast for a bit if we are not getting off ship early.

Enjoy.

Wow! I hope that continues on all ships. On our previous cruises, the thermal suite has never opened until sail away. I'm really glad to hear you experienced something different. I hope this becomes the norm!

Also, apparently hours have shifted as it used to be 8 AM - 10 PM on all days, except the last day which was 8 AM - 10 PM. I do enjoy those evening hours, so an extra hour would be nice. I might even delay my bed time to enjoy the thermal suite a little more.

The thermal suite? If so, it generally opens at sail away time until 10 PM on embarkation day. If the spa with services, I'm not sure.

9 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

yes, "lovely" wasn't meant to refer to the servers look here.  But let's not act like attractiveness doesn't play a part in tipping.  I'm not saying whether it's right or wrong, but it is what it is.

I've certainly been guilty of tipping an attractive server more...not proud of it, but it has happened in the past.

4 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I always enjoy reading your posts and it's a joy to see what you write. However, this time I can't agree with you. As far as I'm concerned, cruise lines are only in charge of what is actually theirs, meaning their staff, and that's it. Dock workers, pier workers, tugboat operators, customs and border enforcement, and municipal workers do not work for the cruise line, so any delays or bad customer service are NOT the fault of the cruise line, period.

That's ok! Disagreement is fine. I know many on here will disagree with what the post you quoted. I've had similar conversations before and plenty of posters said essentially what you said. I'll stick with what I said though - except for the government agencies.

They can throw any kind of monkey wrench in they want. I won't go down that rabbit hole as Cruise Critic isn't the right place for me to complain about those policies/procedures/issues. 

14 hours ago, mking8288 said:

Photos from tonight's LB dinner 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We haven't done LB for quite some time, tonight, we're pleasantly surprised with good food, excellent services and treated to a complimentary wine & bubbles tasting after dinner, before dessert topped off with French press coffee. 

 

Our niece drank the most, oops, I should say she sampled them all for me & the rest 😁😸🫢.  Then, she's off to catch up with other friends to party & dance away. 

 

Your niece is an elite coffee drinker! If I had a mere cup of coffee with dinner, I'd be up for hours...and I don't want anything to come in between me and my bedtime at 9 PM. Oh, my younger self would be pi$$ed with me now...he who did all nighters constantly until I got married and hit 35! 

I'm glad the food was yum!!

41 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

Have you ever tried 'advocating' with unionized municipal workers?

First, I work in HR, for a disaster management/consulting firm that contracts with all levels of government, so yes.

Second, at many of the ports, a third party, Intercruise Shoreside and Port Services (https://www.intercruises.com/where-we-are/) staff the counters. Their employees are not unionized. 

If NCL really cared about the customer experience (based on all these horrible embarkation/disembarkation stories that are not mine), they would ensure the company running pier services provided a quality experience. 

6 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

Day 4 Juneau

breakfast

 

This is what I ordered (let the record show that I did not order those potatoes nor did I eat them)

 

and this is what I made

 

The breakfast potatoes seem to always make it on my plate, even though I never order them and almost always ask for them not to be delivered as I know they'll be left unscarfed. 

Alas, NCL apparently enjoys heaping these potatoes on my plate as if they are laughing at me for missing the greasy sponged fried potatoes! 

Your breakfast sandwich, with tomato, looks fantastic!!

14 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

CC posters should be aware that anything that happens in the embarkation terminal is managed by the ports.  Blaming NCL for long lines, etc., isn't appropriate.

If the cruise line cared about their customers they would advocate on behalf of them and not just accept shoddy customer service. Having said that, I've only been faced with one long line in my two years of cruising. I blamed NCL. I still blame NCL, and readers on Cruise Critic educated me to also blame the port personnel. 

So yea, I'm going to lay blame squarely where it belongs: the port and NCL. I'll also give NCL and the port credit when the line isn't long. And, it hasn't been long since that April 2022 Bermuda fiasco. Thankfully I only waited three hours, while others waited eight.

14 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

Just turn off automatic update and set the time manually. People seem to just be buying watches to do what your phone will do with a quick setting change.

 

If you all want to make life hard for yourself then go ahead but this all sounds like a lot of hard work to me.

 

Subject to issues like mentioned above if an app won’t deal with this of course.

This is what I do. Then my watch and phone are set to the correct time for that time zone and/or for ship time, if it differs from local time. And, if my phone connects to a cell tower, it's not going to change the time on my phone as that feature is disabled by setting time zone manually. 

You'll be fine with shorts. They even let me in with my athletic shorts (think soccer-type). Just so long as they're not short shorts, per NCL. And mine are definitely not short. I just stay away from whatever restaurant does not allow shorts/t-shirts. It's easy to do! 

From our November Pr1ma cruise at Hudson's (same placard was at all restaurants):

And yes, I know I'm a slob. It's vacation, yo! 

12 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Exactly right. We all know those who are saying "oh, they're in their 80's, they didn't know any better" would be screaming age discrimination in case the cruise line took their advanced years into consideration. Classic case of trying to have it both ways...

No one has actually said this on the thread. 

16 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

I can't be empathetic towards a situation that I haven't experienced. I can't be empathetic towards a woman who experienced a painful pregnancy, either. I can be sympathetic, not empathetic.

 

"Sympathy is a feeling of sincere concern for someone who is experiencing something difficult or painful. Empathy involves actively sharing in the person’s emotional experience." - Merriam-Webster

 

So long as I live, it'll be empathy for me. Perhaps you'll be sympathetic. That's your take. It's not mine and I won't allow my words to be construed as sympathy. You sympathize til the sea gulls can't reach land, if you want (I know, I know...was gonna say til the cows come home, but trying to make it topical to cruising). That's your right, just as it's mine to be empathetic. 

10 minutes ago, Two Wheels Only said:

 

You might mean "lacking sympathy...", not "lacking empathy...". 

 

If an adult is responsible, willing, and able enough to take an excursion (on their own) in a foreign country, that same adult is responsible, willing, and able to deal with the consequences of their actions. 

 

If the couple in this situation was 75, would that make a difference? How about 55? How about 25? I can't speak for others but my posts probably wouldn't change at all. If anything, the "experienced cruisers" should/would get less sympathy because they know better.

 

What would happen if NCL instituted a policy that anyone over a certain age cannot leave the ship unless on a ship's excursion? People would be up in arms. Posts stating that "age discrimination" is bad and that older people can "still do things..." would flood the forum. 

 

 

 

That's the point that many on the forum have made. These situations happen because of the decisions and actions taken before things go bad. 

Empathy is exactly what I intended to say. And empathy is what I wish others on these boards would have for those in bad situations, regardless of who is at fault. Nowhere did I say the consequences were unfair, unjust, etc. I don't think I actually provided my opinion on the circumstance being discussed.

Empathy

: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another

Source: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/empathy

Thanks for bringing us along on your cruise!

32 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

I do like wine but I am also not a connoisseur. There are a couple of wines that I tend to go for at the bars.

 

However the restaurants have a larger selection and I quite like to let the wine waiter recommend one to go with my meal. In Le Bistro I specifically said that I would appreciate a recommendation when it came to the entree, but in the end I just took another glass of Veuve. Not a great hardship but a bit of a disappointment.

 

Yesterday in Cagneys it was just topping up our glasses, but we did spend about 10 minutes with empty glasses when eating our entrees. 
 

It is the one area where the cutbacks have affected us. They are trying to deal

with too many people. I don’t particularly blame the waiters themselves (except maybe the Le Bistro one), but it’s still disappointing as the customer.

Thank you! I appreciate the reasoning. That does make sense and I suppose perhaps a wine waiter could be helpful for me. I could describe what I like and they could give me an idea of what would be tasty. As it is, I order blindly, figuring I have Free at Sea so if I don't like it, I don't have to drink it.

Appreciate you educating me while you're on vacation! 

14 hours ago, UKstages said:

reading this thread, i'm reminded how wise it is to take a break from cruise critic every now and again. y'all are brutal and unforgiving and strict constitutionalists... when you want to be.

It's just that many posters forget about empathy. Someone might be in the wrong. They may have made a silly decision. Heck, they could have made absolutely every wrong move in the book. 85 isn't far off from my grandma's age. I imagine her in this situation and how this could impact her. I don't think I'd need to tell her she was wrong. Perhaps I could make some suggestions as to what she could do next time...but bottom line, there are a lot of posters lacking empathy about various happenings on these here boards. And, I'll admit, sometimes I spout off before having half a brain to consider the human element.