cruiseny4life

Order whatever you'd like. Or your husband, I suppose. If he wants five potatoes, a slab of prime rib, a filet mignon, and another slab of prime rib, he can have it. He should throw a lobster tail on the plate too! Well, at least that's how it's supposed to work. Given today's NCL, who knows if it still is working that way.

And here's the actual ad, not just the music video:

There's an entire thread on the ad!

Thanks for taking us along on your day trip to Alicante - scratches, doubling back, and all! It was exciting to see the place through your eyes and experience. Much appreciated!

I'm not sure if I'm a grump or pollyanna about Joy's "enhanced" Observation Lounge. I'm thinking it's going to take personal experience for me to know. I definitely know there are fewer seating options and the lounge always seemed fairly full to me, though not as full as Pr1ma's! Different cruises though: Western Caribbean vs. Transatlantic. I get why you've taken Joy out of your rotation!

Excursions: I haven't actually done this excursion so ya know, I'm ignoring the whole "first-hand recommendation" thing. Multiple posters on here have stated The Baths on Tortola are amazing. It sounds like you probably have a fairly active family since you're still young'ish. Check out the National Park website here: https://www.bvinpt.org/the-baths For others, you can search on the Ports of Call forum which you'll find here (specific link is to the Caribbean forum): https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/456-caribbean/ My husband and I are decidedly in the camp of we will not ever dress up when on vacation. This includes pants and collared shirts (though I do throw a Hawaiian-type shirt in my bag and it has a collar). This means we do not go to Le Bistro or Ocean Blue (collared shirt/pants required). So, I might not be the best to answer this one, but I have been on plenty of cruises where I've seen folks dressed in tuxes, ball gowns, and everything in between. You should feel comfortable wearing fancy clothes if you really want to. Just don't judge those of us enjoying our vacation on a line with a casual dress code (we don't cruise any other lines partly due to the dress code - seriously). Try the app to look through your options. I find the UX more intuitive and it's easy to scroll through the options. You'll want to make reservations for dining (if you want to - we do, but change them so often that we shouldn't), check out entertainment at 21 days before your cruise (may or may not be able to book), look at thermal suite/Vibe options, and shore excursions. And, of course, get that buyer's remorse off your face. You're going. Unless you're silly and cancel within the cancellation period. Go! Have a wonderful time celebrating your daughter's achievement of getting herself through high school.

Many of us prefer not to talk on the phone. It's an outdated mode of communication.

Unless you're within a couple days of sailing, you can cancel your Vibe passes.

OH MY GOSH!!!! @Sugar Magnolia, should I get "Haven Maven" zipper pulls? Thank you @GALSews! Totally going to look for this purely for the entertainment value!

Try out a few other places. Try to keep an open mind. You're on vacation. Do your best to enjoy it. I hope you are able to! If the food issues, staff issues, and cleanliness issues are as you claim and don't get better, then I give you my full permission to go to Guest Services and ask to have your onboard service charge (that's the newest fancy term for gratuities) removed. I've never done it, however many here (and elsewhere) have stated it is an easy process. That's why NCL allows you the discretion to determine whether you pay it, or not. I'm here rooting for you to have a better cruise from this point forward! Please come back and let us know how it went.

Haha! My husband and I are too then. We did do laundry on our Transatlantic, but that was more a result of three days in Europe ahead of the cruise and then five days on the cruise before doing laundry. On our other seven to ten day cruises, we've never had a need to do laundry. But hey, we re-wear clothes all the time. I only pack one pair of shorts as a bathing suit. Eeeek, disgusting I am!

Sub Insta Reels for Tik Tok and you just described me! Oh, and my addiction to Cruise Critic. I must post lives! I did try the 150 minutes on one cruise and it just didn't work that well. I'm glad your kids found work arounds to still be on their phones. I truly don't understand older generations and the whole "screen time" is bad. Did TV screen time kill you? I suppose if given a choice, I'd choose the cruise and fuddy duddy parents who just don't understand the need for internet and staying in touch with friends (you know, relationships).

Unlike others, I have seen younger folk using the spa. I've even seen a very young looking guy with his dad (I swear the guy must have been 15 or 16), but maybe just a young looking 18...anyway, he seemed to enjoy hanging out in the different spa spaces. On other cruises, I've seen families with college-aged children in the spa. It is supposed to be a quiet space (good luck getting the older chatter boxes to shut the F up though). On a separate cruise there was a young couple (19 - 22'ish) who were...well, the guy was throwing his girl around in the pool and the make out seshes were...well what you'd expect from that age. No one seemed to mind. I was just glad they were enjoying themselves. I've seen older couples do the same, too...so it ain't a young person's pursuit only. Anyway...if your kids enjoy saunas, hot tubs, thalassotherapy pools, steam rooms, cold rooms, and loungers, then they'll enjoy NCL's thermal suite! I'm sure they would enjoy a respite after a long excursion. Good luck getting the passes!

One dining for some in your party, or all if they like the food: Shanghai Noodle Bar is excellent. At least the dim sum is. Portions are small. Two tiny spring rolls or potstickers, but oh so yummy! The fried rice and noodle dishes are ok. The soups are alright. I'd highly recommend checking it out for lunch or dinner, but the line may be extremely long. We have waited for 30 minutes prior to opening at lunch on a sea day. It's worth it to us. Y'all should try it out!! Dim sum galore! Each of those steamer bowl thingies are filled with a whopping two pieces of dumpling or spring roll. Fried rice and one of the soup dishes. Enjoy!

Yes to all your "understand"s. Listen to the Cruise Tips TV podcast's recent review of sailing Joy after the dry dock. They go through many of the changes and are very positive about them. They are a positive vibe type of podcast, so our grumps here on Cruise Critic might not like it. I enjoy their personalities. I also believe they may have gone on the ship, in partnership with Norwegian (I forgot what they said in the pod), so it may be more glowing than if they had spent their money on the trip. https://cruisetipstv.com/how-was-our-spring-break-cruise-on-norwegian-joy/

Oh as if it hasn't happened before. Don't like. Don't read it. Easy peasy. And hey! Haven luggage must be pristine...cuz, ya know. Haven! Well, except my bag which is an almost ten year old Coleman duffel bag with half the zipper pulls missing (still haven't taken that paper clip hint from others). Gosh, why does NCL let me in the Haven so often anyways?

Here's a look at the Latitudes Rewards. As a Gold member you should receive 50% off one bag of laundry, so the price @hallux quoted. Or, maybe $17 if it's really $35? Source: https://www.ncl.com/latitudes-rewards-program @bkrickles1 - have a wonderful cruise!!!

We did laundry (first time) on Pr1ma in November sometime around midway through the cruise when the offer appeared. Good deal for us (then) Gold members as the price was cut in half. When the basket of laundry was returned, we just left everything in there until the cruise was over as we didn't have anymore sweaty adventures, so just re-wore our clothes. The basket stayed in our room longer than we did on disembarkation day. I'm betting the room steward would have forgotten about it if we snatched the basket. So you might be able to get away with it...if one really can't afford a $10 cheap wicker basket. And yes, I know, your post was in jest. I'm just saying what could be possible if the world were full of thieves.

I've learned two things from you in this one post. First, the lyrics changed. What!?! I tried singing the new lyrics (and I do understand the reasoning), but it just doesn't strike the feels as the old lyrics did. And, secondly, apparently NCL believes Arancini make an entree? Huh?! I'd totally pick that as I love those little fried balls of rice, but an entree? Methinks not. Thanks for carrying on! I'm loving all the wonderful details and reports you're providing! I can't wait for "General Zod" to make its' debut on Broadway!

That's all well and good. I'd provide some of my economic/taxation policy thoughts here, but it's not the right forum. I'm just happy that airline passengers and cruise ship passengers are the ones really paying for port valet. That placates me. 🙂

I think this may absolutely be a part of the rationale to subsidize the port valet program!!

WHOA!!! What a freaking incredible month and a half of adventure! I'd love to hear more about your shore excursions. Are you taking a lot NCL excursions? Doing your own thing? A mish mash of everything? Your Pookie is one lucky lady who worked a heck of a tough job. She certainly deserves this lovely and crazy time aboard a few of NCL's lovely ladies. I really hope you're able to keep us updated here, but understand if all the shore days and exciting wanderings keep you engaged, then napping! Y'all are peripatetic souls after my own heart.

Port Valet is actually paid for by airline and port fees, according to the Port of Seattle. If I were a Seattle resident, I'd be quite upset if my tax dollars were funding vacationers luggage transfers. Source: https://www.portseattle.org/news/190326-Cruise-Port-Valet-Release Source: https://meetings.portseattle.org/portmeetings/attachments/2023/2022_02_14_RM_8e_Memo_Cruise-Luggage-Port-Valet-Program.pdf

Looks like a few new dining and imbibing options are coming to Aqua. - Thai (yes, please) - Wine (meh) - Vegan (grossssssssssss) https://www.nclhltd.com/news-media/press-releases/detail/592/norwegian-cruise-line-unveils-all-new-culinary-experiences

So...I'm blaming all y'all. One of our many weekend antics was going to Texas de Brazil last night (we took Monday off for a long weekend with each other). I started sending photos of yummy meat and potatoes au gratin to my husband on Friday. By Monday I broke him and I got my unlimited meats! If you don't want to read however long my post is...my husband does not ever want to go back and I'd go if offered, but probably won't send photo after photo to get him to go. Our experience last night reminded us that we had told each other the last time we went, that we wouldn't go again. That was probably two or three months ago, so naturally we forgot. Hopefully we don't forget a third time! I bring this up only because I keep hearing about NCL's Moderno not being up to snuff. At Texas, we stopped getting the filet as it was fatty, chewy, and gristly. The meats were all cooked medium rare even when medium was requested...well except that one time the sirloin came out well done. Each time, the sausages were very crispy and not in that good grill mark way. Service was excellent, though we tried to tip a trainee and were not allowed to. All-in, the cost was $150 for two people, which includes one Coke, two meals, and tip. I had the free tap water with ice. I'd say, based on the reviews written above (good and bad), Moderno is providing pretty much the same exact dining experience as Texas de Brazil. Now to get to a Fogo to see if it's a step up.