IAcruising

25 minutes ago, KarenRB said:

Anyone know what amount is supposed to be taxed?

Without booking the exact rooms, on the exact same cruises, at the exact same times -- no, no one knows the amount you are supposed to be taxed.

2 minutes ago, astera said:

No formal nights on NCL?

No. Dress Up nights, if you wish. There are photographers available whatever night you choose to take pictures. Dressed up, or not.

15 minutes ago, Travelling2Some said:

That is a very interesting statement.

It is what it is. I agree with you. You need to explore past what you "know", right?

6 minutes ago, astera said:

Which Royal ship were you on? Was it the ship you didn't like or lots of other things as well?

We were on Ovation in Alaska. A very fine ship, but different from NCL. No drink package or specialty dining included. Great shows, but not "Choir of Man" level. We had no complaints but will choose NCL.

5 minutes ago, astera said:

the Escape looks like a big ship with lots of options.

The Escape is a great ship. Very similar to a Quantum class like Ovation of the Seas.

But different. Obviously.

I think your girls will love it.

On 4/28/2024 at 7:41 PM, BirdTravels said:

So now it is unclear how a rotating menu would fix the fact that Haven menu has seafood and that you only tolerate what is on the non-seafood menu.

Wait. What? Is the Bird saying that the Haven restaurant should not have a rotating menu? That is the single most posted complaint about the Haven. And you agree with it?

Without actual knowledge of the true facts, you will receive your luggage whenever it gets there, with whatever tags you have. Haven, or not.

As a Loyal-to-Royal, you will not be as satisfied with NCL. We are NCL loyal and were not satisfied with the one cruise we took on Royal. It is all about what you expect. Both lines are the same, with different feels, vibes, packages, etc.

You prefer what you know.

56 minutes ago, chilliano said:

The menus seem to be following "foodie" (not just health) trends.

I can agree. Thus, pork belly seems to be a trend. Not for the animal fat conscious. I'd prefer a properly cooked beef pot roast.

24 minutes ago, YVRteacher said:

The good buns are in the American Diner.

Excellent. Now, how about the cheeeese?

"Hey, is that a Vicodin?"

"Can't tell, pick it up."

"No, you pick it up."

5 hours ago, complawyer said:

that

being said however, if she doesnt see the northern lights, my life is forfeit

I can kind of relate. I'm giving up the last opportunity in my lifetime to see a total eclipse. Oh well, I'll be cruising. I'll get over it. It will probably end up being completely overcast where I was planning to stay anyway.

On 4/2/2024 at 11:09 PM, kd1044 said:

You can't take the money with you when you go, but you can take your experiences. 

How does that work, exactly?

23 minutes ago, gknep said:

If you have Platinum of above status on NCL you also get 2 free specialty dining meals. One with a bottle of wine. 

They aren't even bronze yet.

2 hours ago, PATRLR said:

Well, maybe coinciding with removal of the beef entrees, they decide they better step up their game on the strip steak.  One can hope.  Or, maybe it's just different sourcing.

I will take one (or three) for team, starting next week on the Encore repo. This will be my 7th attempt. I'll be going in with pretty low expectations, so who knows?

14 hours ago, Eric from San Diego said:

The reason people fly in the day of the cruise is because they have a thing known as a "job".  You might have heard of it.  Also known as employment.

Thank you so much. I was unaware. 😏

Here's a few ideas: leave Friday night after work or take a cruise that leaves on Sunday (there are 6 of them just in Miami this weekend), or maybe suck it up and take an unpaid day off. If that stretches the budget too much, maybe think twice about a cruise.

It's not rocket science to figure out how to get in a day early.

2 hours ago, PATRLR said:

I'm genuinely curious as to why anyone cares when the ship pulls away from the pier.

It's called "sail away" for a reason, man!  😄 It's a thing.

I would have no problem waiting for awhile. I guess the party would just last longer. But how long do you wait, and for what number of passengers, when no one knows if or when they will arrive?

3 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

I'm a bit surprised to read these statements.

I'm not. Why are these people flying in the day of embarkation? Getting left behind is the price you pay for that mistake.

35 minutes ago, Mike07 said:

Respectfully,

The one you made a personal attack on

I saw no personal attack, just a common reference.

But I did notice you recognized yourself immediately. 

21 hours ago, CAKEisgood said:

Thought I saw under classic entree’s a grilled NY strip steak. Maybe I was mistaken?

4 minutes ago, Mlake09 said:

Just wondering if you saw the strip steak?

We're well aware of the gnarly daily strip steak. We're watching the featured (changing) entrees. No beef yet.

Yeah, obvious one-off. Our show was not what you guys are describing. Maybe we were tired, or maybe we just didn't know what to expect. Maybe it was the song choices. But I'm absolutely on point when I say the show we saw was ALL about the tips, and ONLY the tips.

Now we need to get back on a ship that has it, to see what we missed.

I am flummoxed. What I've read about Howl, and what we experienced, are like we are living on a different planet. Howl is the one.only.single show that we have ever left early on any cruise ship.

We saw it on the Escape last November, and they were absolutely awful. The main guy left for 1/2 the time we were there, and he was the only redeemable quality in the show.

I don't know if this was the last show of their contract or what. The performance of the songs was a joke, and I swear they were more drunk than I (and that's saying something). 

The entire thing, from start to when we left was a straight up money grab. At one point, the main guy stood up with $5 bill and said this was just a suggestion. Then he held up a $20 bill and said this is a request that will be played. I didn't know if he was joking or not.

Tell me that this was just a one-off and maybe I'll give it a second chance. But damn, it was shiat-show as far we were concerned.

24 minutes ago, Panhandle Couple said:

Well, I don't know about anyone else....

But I have deleted over 300 e-mails telling me about new posts made on this thread.  

I will probably get another 300 more before it is all over.

There is a reason why I get none, and it doesn't even include rocket science. 😄

Interesting thread, but no one will give it a second thought in a few days.

We're travelling with Mrs. IA's sister and husband for 21-days with $250 OBC each. He asked me what he could possibly spend all that money on? (we have all our specialty dining, drink package, excursions, and gratuities prepaid)

I just laughed and told him we'll revisit this discussion at the end of the 1st week. 😆

Is there truly nothing in "the shops" you could use for $50? The list of liquor alone would give me no problem whatsoever.