jkrislc

Unfortunately, I think you'll still need to pay the gratuities for your husband towards the drink package. If I remember correctly, you can't choose it for one but not the other unless something has changed. NCL has some weird policies. For example, my son, as a third passenger, is not eligible for a package as a minor. However, if he were the second passenger, then he would receive the soda package since he is a minor. Yet, if my wife was named as the third passenger, she'd be eligible for the "free" drink package as would any remaining guests in the cabin provided they were adults.

We were charged sales tax while in port in San Diego on Princess and on NCL while docked in Port Canaveral. I don't remember it being much, though. It was definitely less than a dollar per drink. However, on NCL, the bartender purposely didn't scan our cards for soda as he said we'd be charged tax, but he did need to swipe the card for alcoholic drinks.

When we did our meet and greet on the Gem in January, they were preventing the officers from attending because of COVID. However, three weeks earlier on Princess, at least a dozen officers and staff were at the meet and greet thanking us for supporting the industry and being some of the first back onboard. I think a lot of this has to do with cost-cutting now instead of COVID protocols much like how hotels are no longer offering regular housekeeping unless requested.

We were able enjoy the buffet and the pub on NCL despite celiac. In the buffet, we simply asked the chef to walk us through and let us know which items were safe to eat. They would also custom prepare items like pasta and GF pizza. In the pub, the selection was a bit more limited unless you ordered in advance. However, I was able to get a burger on a gluten-free bun and my wife often enjoyed the bun less rueben as she isn't crazy about GF bread. The nachos were also an option, but they had to make an accommodation by removing one of the ingredients. Generally speaking, they do a good job overall particularly if you can order in advance. While they can accommodate you on the fly, your options will be much more limited than if you preorder.

I have had this occur sporadically on the NCL site. It seems to be to specific subcategories of cabins. For example, when we tried to book a balcony for our Alaska cruise, the cheapest category would come up as guarantee only. However, if I picked the family balcony category which was $40 more per person, then I was able to pick my specific cabin. Try changing the cabin type within the category you're looking at to see if you then get a choice of cabin.

I have taken three cruises in the last six months, one of which was the Gem out of New York during the last big wave of COVID when the CDC was recommending against taking cruises. I have yet to contract COVID, but we also wore our masks throughout the ship except when eating and drinking. We also tried to distance ourselves when we could. That being said, our cruises were only at 25-40% capacity, so it was easy to socially distance ourselves from others.

American Diner should be an included restaurant. If they wanted to add a couple of up charge items, I'd be okay with that, but too much of the menu is overpriced and doesn't offer much more than what you can get included elsewhere. I don't mind pay a little bit extra for things, but when they start charging retail/land prices for items, that's when I get upset as I've already paid for food as part of my cruise fare. By that account, there should be at least a slight discount to what I would pay at a land-side establishment.

Carnival just announced that they will be closing their Italian restaurant on Captain's Table on their ships due to staffing issues. Not as bad as having your cruised canceled, which I am sorry to hear about, but it shows that staffing has been an issue across all of the lines.

When we were on the Gem in January, there were no production shows presumably because of an injury with one of the cast members, although it could have also been COVID-related. Instead, they used guest entertainers in place of the song and dance production shows. We had 4 guest entertainers that they rotated through that included a hypnotist, a comedian, a musician, and a singer. I enjoyed them as much, if not more, than the production shows. There was also live music in various venues throughout the ship including the house band.