laudergayle

Thanks for the adorable sloth pics…and your family is cute, too! I can honestly say I never thought I would want to hug a sloth. But, after @JamieLogical pics snd now yours, I have to seriously consider a cruise to see them.

Our son worked for American Cruise Lines in 2018-2019. He went on to Lindblad who does the Nat Geo expeditions…where he got to do Alaska down through Panamal Canal…then Covid hit. He has since pivoted careers, unfortunately the “free cruise” we were going to get on Lindblad never materialized. It is unfortunate for American Steamboat Company and its employees and cruisers.

That does seem odd. In November we walked through the mall out to the street to catch the public bus. We took a taxi back which dropped us near the picture you showed above at the port entrance…then walked back through the mall.

I absolutely agree with you about the service excellence on the Bliss. Mardes, the Assistant GM, is quite amazing (IMO). I absolutely believe her positive leadership style inspires others to excel. You don’t even need to speak with her…just watch her interactions with others. BTW, my personal experience with both NCL and MSC is that most bartenders don’t go out of their way to get you something they don’t have. It’s the ones that do that make the difference.🥰

Grateful.

Be on the lookout for Humpbacks in Cabo and south. March is a big month for them.

The macarons inside are one my favorites!

Our son was a deckhand on one of the River cruise lines. He would do the NOLA to a Red Wing MN on a regular basis, but with drought and flooding the past few years the ships haven’t really been able to do the entire transit. He told me that we would be bored…lol. Nice to know that you found it enjoyable. We may need to rethink River cruising. I’ve often thought I’d like to do the Columbia/Snake River.

Awesome photo!!

Love NOLA, too. Our last visit I just didn’t get to the Pharmacy Museum…which was on my to do list. Guess it’s time to book a cruise down and out of the Mississippi.

The upcharge Lobster tails are a new addition and look amazing. I would order them for $30 to burn some OBC.

And that’s definitely not the look you want as a solo lady in an “unsafe” city🤣 Aaah, Odette is a lady. Is she traveling with you? If so…then, technically, you are not a solo female.

Well, the month of March has just become much more enjoyable. So looking forward to Travel Adventures with Bubbles by YVRteacher. BTW, loving your support ostrich. Does he have a name?

Well, you definitely want your phone number. Honestly, if not for my immediate contact info, I would have taken an unknown bag to ATL, while my bag traveled to Rochester, NY…or worse, abandoned at the NYC Manhattan Pier.

On our last flight, I was sitting in the airport lounge when my phone notified me that our bags were now loaded on a flight that wasn’t ours, arriving two hours earlier. I imagined our bags on the carousel hoping someone wouldn’t lift them. The desk agent assured me this was common and they would be put aside in LAX…they were.

I,too, have had the no bag on the carousel, more than once. When it did happen, I found the airline representatives to be helpful…and empathetic. Perhaps the empathy on behalf of those the OP dealt with was missing. Unfortunately, many people are not emphathetic.

Yes it does happen. In fact, in October ‘22 we disembarked the Breakaway in Manhattan. Our suitcases are red (DH) and royal blue (me). Hubby woke up with a racked back on disembarkation day…so I offered to wheel his suitcase which is larger and heavier. In the arrivals hall, I quickly found our suitcases right next to each other. I grabbed the red and DH grabbed the blue. Off to the NCL transfer bus to Newark. As soon as the bus started to pull away my air tag dinged…it said my bag was last seen at the pier. But since I watched as the bags were loaded I just figured it was a slight delay on the tag. Well…a few minutes later my phone rings. I ignore. It immediately rings again. I answer. The nicest person says…I think you have my bag. Connect the dots…I said yes, I think I do. Is it blue? They were boarding a bus to JFK. Fortunately both our flights were around 2 pm. Once we got to Newark we jumped in a cab and off to JFK to switch bags. Our cab arrived at the exact moment the bus did…which was amazing. I mentioned that the Newark-JFK-Newark cab ride was like an excursion through NY boroughs…whereby our driver started pointing out different sites. That trip, we went under the Verrazano, over on the lower level and back on the top level. Our excursion cost us $250.

Luggage theft happens all the time at airports. Why do you think it is unlikely that it happened to OP? Heck, it could haven fallen off the luggage cart being transported from ship to arrivals warehouse. There maybe a homeless person with some brand new duds, a razor AND shaving cream…even deodorant and some fine smelling cologne. Regardless of how it went missing, it is gone, has not been returned or recovered, and can be considered stolen from the perspective of the OP. His post is a reminder to all of us who travel to safeguard our belongings at all times. Not everyone is honest.

Despite my ongoing rant on another thread (unfortunately I kept taking the bait…silly me), I too have many, many positive memories on NCL ships. My absolute favorite ship is the Bliss. I just find every space beautiful and inviting. A favorite moment was in November when the staff and crew lined up outside and serenaded us as we returned to the ship. Everyone was singing and clapping…you felt like you were the bride and groom walking down the aisle after getting married. Never on a cruise have we had such a reception.

Even with all the changes, you will still have a good time. Heck…you’ll be on a cruise. Enjoy!

So I found one of my pics from 2007 where, in a White Elephant exchange, I gave a towel origami book with an elephant towel complete with shades. Unfortunately the recipient, as well others st the party, had no idea about towel animals. See, those of us who cruise(d) have a different connection to those silly features. I often wished I kept that book as I would make towel animals for our room stewards,

no, not at all... that's like saying that burger king should conduct focus groups to see how consumers feel about the size of their burgers to see if what they've read online (people complaining about their burger size) is widespread. and then they should conduct competitive research to see how big wendy's and mcdonalds burgers are. and then they should do surveys on online platforms to test consumers' response to a bigger burger with a new name and a playful tag line and accompanying advertising campaign. and then they should go to franchisees in columbus, ohio and peoria, illinois to conduct an A and B test with two versions of their new burger concept with actual consumers. and then they should take the findings from those two tests and refine their burger and then go to two different cities to test the new burger once again. and assuming it's successful, and the data shows that the new burger will satisfy consumers and make the company more money, they should then launch the winning bigger burger nationally. Yes, yes, yes. There is a lot of research, analytics, testing and more analytics…not to mention operational feasibility before successful brand changes are introduced. Thank you for your insightful contribution to this thread.

First off…I agree with you completely. Move on…yes…until someone decides to quote you with a comment/s that doesn’t represent what your position is or what you are saying.

Feature…that’s a great word. A feature of cruising… and an “unexpected” surprise. Love you DHs humor.

But you see, you keep quoting me. I have never once said they should haphazardly spend money. I have said that their spending cuts (or company savings) has eroded brand loyalty and they no longer have a strong brand positioning. I would hope that NCL has the talented teams that know how to calculate ROI and balance operational savings vs. marketing investments. If not they need to fire and rehire.