pete_coach

Yes you can. I saw folks doing it at Guest services. Why? Well that is p to the person requesting it. The have their reasons. Good for you. 🙂

There was no bait and switch. You are fully aware of all expenses when you get to the bottom line. It is a same when you buy an airline ticket...all extra fees and taxes are noted at the bottom of the bill before you agree to purchase.

I wonder how many of the almost 50 million posts on Cruise Critic are repeated questions. They all could call the cruise line directly and get answers but, sometimes people can give experiential answers as opposed to corporate scripted answers? We have cruised often and have asked questions here to confirm or to validate what the corporate websites indicate. Sorry if I hurt your feelings.

Forgive me. No insult intended. Just defending someone new to NCL.

Key is, the OP said "never been on n. cruise ", meaning they have never been on NCL. Perhaps they were never on MSC either. The threads on Cruise Critic are full of repeated questions, still not necessary to belittle or mock the person posing the questions. Not everyone on the forum is as computer savvy as you may be.

You may know it all but the OP said "never been on n. cruise ", so they asked. No need to belittle or mock the question or OP.

Point was that you can go to Guest Services and have it removed.

Everything you buy (food and drinks and rides etc) onboard will have a "gratuity" included. Daily Service Charge for the cabin is also included but you can go to Guest Services and remove it,

You are ticketed with the cheapest fare. Those usually do not include pre selecting seats or meals. Much of that is extra. Make sure your carry on is not extra too. You can try to ease your anxiety by joining TAP Miles&Go program. Then getting the TAP booking reference for your flights. With that, you may be able to get answers and extras. But yes, their website is not very friendly, remembering it is geared for the Portuguese market.

Just pointing out to you that NCL is not and was not the only cruise line that has had difficulty with mechanical, weather, regulations, or change of rules from time to time. As for the guests, well, if 2000+ passengers made it back on time, I suggest to you that those people did not listen or pay attention to the change announcement. Lastly, as I have said numerous times, I am not a NCL cheerleader.

We too have missed ports due to weather several times. We could not get to Bahamas because too many ships in port. We were in San Juan with 7 ships docked, was not worth getting off the boat (about 21,000 passengers hitting the Old Town LOL) Just recently missed docking in Panama for an overnight because the port changed their scheduling. Things happen that can not be foretasted and considering cruise lines schedule and sell years in advance, many things can change. But yes, boo hoo and make way too much noise because you missed a port seems to be the thing to do LOL

So you found three 6 year old issues? One had some repairs that need to be done Another had mechanical failures and the ship could not sail. And one about 2 passengers that failed to get aboard on time and the ship left without them? Like I said, I do not and never will defend NCL or other cruise lines but, all lines have problems with their ships and passengers. Nothing new and will surely happen again. Cruise ship woes are not unusual in an industry that has over 50 lines and close to 300 ships sailing world wide.

I challenge you on that statement. A habit? Like a regular occurrence? More so than any other cruise line? I think you need to elaborate an d provide some data or evidence on such a claim. I am far from a cheerleader for NCL, let alone any cruise line but I do think that making baseless accusations is wrong.

Unfair. They have staff to do all the service required. When people abuse things, the staff cannot keep up. It is the passenger that brought this on. No nickle and diming at all, this is a result of poor behaviour.

Yes but the staff was there to remove drinking glasses, not half eaten plates, some from the Garden Cafe which should not hve been there. Yes, the staff is supposed to control but can you imaging the sh__ storm if a passenger is told to take the food back to the cafe??/ LOL

We were just on the Bliss LA to Miami. I could actually see this coming. I would say they will also start enforcing bribing food from the Garden cafe up to the lounge. I think that the passengers are the ones to blame. The ones that leave half filled plates on the furniture, especially in the front. The place was disgusting after we went thorough the Canal. Food on chairs and couches.

I get that some species are more expensive than others. Personally, I am not a fish eater so, I really am not concerned about what fish is served. 🙂 I also get that many fish in stores and restaurants are sold as one species and are in fact, something else (often cheaper species). We, the common person, are not smart enough to know what the differences are, especially when they are cooked. Many are eating fish that is not what is advertised. https://thehealthyfish.com/5-commonly-mislabeled-fish/ https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2013/02/21/172589997/one-in-three-fish-sold-at-restaurants-and-grocery-stores-is-mislabeled Thank you for your take on this.

You really are trying hard LOL Bottom of the food chain? Pretty sure you are not familiar with that term LOL. Being a farmed protein, it cannot be bottom of food chain LOL Tilapia is famed all over the world, as well as in the US. I am done with you. Don't like MDR, don't eat there and be done with that. The crowds and lines ups at MDR's indicate you are in a small group 🙂 Have a nice cruise.

Well, it seems to me that you have to find another way to vacation.The food and service in the MDR and the fish being served clearly ruins it for you 🙂 I already said to you that food is the most talked about topic on this and other cruise line forums. "One fish that many people label as a bottom feeder is Tilapia—but that's not strictly true. In the wild, Tilapia usually eat around the mid-level of the water,"

OK, ya don't like tilapia but, it does not change my comment that says it is the 3rd or 4th most popular fish in the US 🙂

OK. My comment was that tilapia was the 4th most popular fish in the USA today. You may not like it but a lot do. As I said in my first post, food on ships is the most debated topic on this forums, regardless of what cruise line. Sorry to be you. I would also choose different places to eat if I consistently did not like the food

OK but, my point was to relay your dissatisfaction at the time of service. I am sure your server would have brought over a manager or Maitre 'D. I hope your next meal is up to your satisfaction. 🙂

I did read your post and that is why I asked if you spoke with the server. The servers, in any restaurant anywhere in the world are the ones that relay information to the cooks. If the food is not good, that is who you speak to about it. You certainly do not go back to the kitchen LOL If you do not say anything, no one can help you. As for portion size, yes, that is the way it is done in the entire food service industry, you may doubt it but that is the way. As for poor fish,some like it and some do not. Tilapia by the way, is the 3rd or 4th most popular fish. There are premium cuts in every protein but, they ar e always more expensive, even in land based restaurants. As I said, food is probably the most debatable topic in any forum and certainly on Cruise Critic in all ship and line forums. That said, while we did not like all offerings, we would never say the food has declined. All tastes are different and yours apparently is much higher level than many here and fir sure, you can state your thoughts but, you should also allow others to express theirs without becoming upset. 🙂

100% correct. All is plated and photographed, primarily for the food service people and staff and consistency. Thing is though, the plating is changed as required. If plates come back half eaten, then adjustments are made. This is normal for the industry This is done in all kitchens and especially large service kitchens and within corporations to cut expenses and costs. So, going from 5 to 4 ravioli or 3 to 2 spring rolls. Or steaks or meats going from 6 or 5 to 4 ounces. Just think of the savings if feeding 4000 people. Nothing progressive or enlightened, this has been done long before cameras and AI. It is common practice in the food service industry. And NCL wants to save every penny it can and food is a great place to do it.

Food displeasure. Over 100 posts. As you said "I understand that food is subjective " and it most certainly is. (although the topic more often than not wanders into many other directions LOL) Your dislike of the meat at Moderno is too bad and when this displeasure was mentioned to the server, their response was?? Portion size is often determined by what goes back to the kitchen. If plates go back with food on them and no complaints by the customers,they adjust. Why waste food? Also, if you wanted more, you could have asked and would have gotten more. The Main Dining Rooms "the menu's were really bad". Well, in our most recent 15 day cruise, the MDR menus had Apps on the right side, Regular everyday items (chicken, pastas, vegetarian and salad) on right side also.The left side were the days specials (including a variety of fish. Types depended on what part of the world you are in) along with a box where you could order something from the specialty restaurants (for an extra fee). O'Sheehan's (or whatever they call it on other ships) is a pub with pub food. Snacks and light meals. Some good, some average and some not so good. The hot dogs at Locals on the Bliss were not great so we never ordered then again but we went back. Don't get me wrong, I am not defending the food, or disparaging the OP but, as they said, food is one of the most debated things on cruise ships. I will say that if you cannot find any food onboard that is satisfying, you must be a gourmand and/or spectacular cook at home. I also would like to know what was expected. 😉