newmexicoNita

On 3/17/2018 at 6:44 AM, C cruise said:

 

How would NCL know that they aren't handicapped themselves? Why would they ask them to switch rooms? and when it comes time to bid for upgrades, might they not get the offer because there are only so many accessible rooms?

Most people who would booked in a handicapped   would be honest enough to let the representative know they were not handicapped. That is when the decision would be made as to whether to request a cabin change or for the rep to ask if they would mind changing cabins? I think it is important to realize this happens very rarely, so we are not talking about relocating dozens of passengers every sailing or even two or three every sailing 

On 2/17/2020 at 8:27 AM, esm54687 said:

For the love of all things cruising...... you resurrected a 2 year old thread with 107 posts for what point???   Post #1 and Post #108 are not remotely the same. 

thanks; my thoughts as well. Nice he is considerate but I am sure, especially being a GTY cabin if they end up needing the cabin they will notify him. 

On 2/7/2020 at 10:39 AM, shof515 said:

this is common from the access desk and these restrictions always been there 

 

due to the steps and uneven floor between ship and tender, it is true that lots of manual manpower is needed to lift and carry people up/down steps and over gaps 

 

it is also on their website: https://www.ncl.com/about/accessible-cruising

I am glad they are forewarning guests of the restriction and it is an excellent rule. It does affect a lot of people who would love to visit ports that require tender assistance, but it also protects the employees from injuring themselves or the guests from being injured. We had a situation last fall. I could not manage to get on a tender and the person who was assisting people was not strong enough to help that much This was not a NCL tender situation but  private company. I made the choice not to try to get onto the boat. It was hard not to do the tour but I am glad I made the choice and NCL did refund our money as it was a sponsored tour. Now 100 lbs might be a little unrealistic but I do understand the reason behind a restriction. 

13 hours ago, rs45thompson said:

Will be going on the Breakaway February 29. Do you remember if they had the lobster tails?

 

No Lobster tails in MDR which isn't new and not a bad idea. The Lobster most ships offer or used to offer is frozen and really not at all tasty. There are many other choices that are better. 

I agree with jaja about the prime rib. We are lovers of prime rib but what is served in the MDR on most mass marketed cruises isn't worth ordering. As for the cut back in the MDR I think it is a no brainer. With all the dining choices now offered with "free at sea" the MDR menu is bound to not be as appealing as in the Good Old Days. 

14 hours ago, youagain said:

thanks for your replies At least it will not matter for our reservations for meal plans.Will be doing Cagneys and teppa? now 2 more reservations to go.

Do Le Bistro for sure. 

On 1/22/2020 at 9:43 PM, mugtech said:

So you have made over 6,000 posts, been on CC since 2010 and you just discovered this "free" thing?  Welcome to NCL. 

after I posted I noticed the same thing: obviously OP knows how it works or certainly should. I find it hard to understand how anyone could not know how perks and packages work if they are seasoned travelers and seasoned posters.  

On 1/22/2020 at 7:32 PM, cruzsnooze said:

I went to book a 14 night med cruise for Oct 2020 in a suite with the 5 for free.  When they stated the cruise cost I asked what happened to the brochure price. Well it's 200 for tips on the free beverage package and $30 more for the specialty restaurants and a measly $50 PER CABIN per port for their shore excursions. I felt it was deceptive advertising and didn't book it. I went over to Azamara who has a better value because they are really inclusive without deception. Why do people let them get away with this. Just as an FYI I don't even drink alcohol just diet cokes and water and they said bottles of water aren't included anyway. 

It is your choice you do not drink alcohol so if it is including in the 5 perks, what would you expect them to do for you? As for the tips, if you go to a restaurant and you have a 2 for 1 coupon wouldn't you expect to tip on the entire bill if you did not have the coupon? Of course I would think you would. As for the excursions, I have always thought the line explains it very clearly: it is per cabin, not per person. I can only see one legit gripe you have and that is the bottled water one. Why NCL does not include it in the packages is a puzzle for most. If you don't want to take advantage of the 5 for free then book without the perks. 

On 1/20/2020 at 3:55 PM, Yo Adrienne said:

HAHAHAHA...if she wasn't a good friend, I'd definitely think that...! 🙂 She's actually VERY good...and has always gone to the mat for us to get us the best deals...!  And when there's been a problem, she's gotten it resolved in our favor...! 🙂 

sounds to me like you should stick with her even if she may have been wrong this time. The important thing is it seems you got what you wanted. Happy cruising. 

On 1/17/2020 at 11:22 AM, Ithikan said:

We are joining Journey soon and are sad to hear from friends that the Living Room has become something of a "chair hog" venue, as Trivia fans gather, spread out, play, and then stay through Tapas Time and into the evening.

Last summer's experience on Pursuit demonstrated that the Den is much needed and appreciated as a public space.  There, the Trivia teams were well served, the bar was active and very popular, travel books tempted next to comfortable seating and Shore Excursions were right there with info, etc.  Then, the Living Room beckoned for those seeking a quiet drink and stellar views - something for everyone.

 

We too experienced the chair hogs. One day we were arriving to play trivia: a young lady who was lying down on one of the sofas and appeared to be sleeping, let us know, in on uncertain terms the chairs were reserved for her family Obviously she was not sleeping. I guess, no matter where one is or what line chair hogs exists..

7 hours ago, Jim in OR said:

I agree that the current casino space is too lightly used to remain a casino. I used to enjoy the social aspect when there were live dealers but I’ve only used the current electronic tables for one hour this cruise even though we had five sea days.  Despite winning a little more than $300, I doubt I’ll use them during the six sea days coming up this week. Without real people, it’s just not the same.

 

Time to repurpose the space.  

I have never seen a casino used so little anywhere, any time. Our daughter went to a TA meeting on our last Journey cruise last month. Plans are to close the casino, but I am not sure when. She would probably remember. 

On 1/10/2020 at 2:54 PM, excitedofharpenden said:

Totally agree and I find this thread rather exclusive and snooty because of it. You can easily turn the observations round if you like the bigger ships with lots of amenities. Thank goodness we have such a wide choice. 

 

Phil 

Very good points. there is no way to turn a cruiser off quicker than for people to start thinking a particular cruise line is above the others. Loyalty is one thing, snobbery is something else. 

14 minutes ago, Sleep7 said:

And the number one phrase never uttered.. certainly not by me is "Gee.. thank goodness it's the last day.  Can't wait to get off this ship!"

Btw.. The comments by Charlie's Aunt about the shower curtain and Jim in OR about the internet were HILARIOUS.

and I have rarely heard that on any cruise unless it has been an unusual situation like the horrible winds we encountered last month: Actually the cruise we heard it on was Azamara. I guess we should never say never. 

On 1/3/2020 at 7:04 PM, loveandcruises said:

"No washy, no foodie. No foodie, no happy. No happy, go homey."

and I kinda miss the washy washy. 

On 1/1/2020 at 12:59 PM, diana11 said:

Re the beach towels last month on Pursuit, there was a card in our cabin stating that if these towels were missing at the end of the voyage then we would be charged! I was surprised 

and we didn't have towels in our cabin, we got them out by the pool.  

On 1/1/2020 at 6:48 AM, Riocca said:

A common confusion amongst passengers who are new to Azamara is that the drinks menu is not definitive and you can get any cocktails that can be made with the included alcohol, same applies to the drinks packages. 
This was all covered back in 2017 when the new drinks menu was introduced, all you have to do is ask for the drink to be made with the included alcohol, all of the bar staff should be aware of this, we’ve never had any problem in fact most of the bartenders can be very creative.

we did and no, was the answer. I don't know what the reason was but we were diff limited to what we could and could not order. So were our friends. 

9 hours ago, hladygirl said:

The basic NCL policy now is you only get them if you request them. You will then have to tip Stewart more or feel like a jerk. Just NCL’s way of making you feel like you have to pay more. On my last cruise in April 2019, no towel animals or ice bucket without request. Made you feel like you were inconveniencing them and should pay extra for what you got on previous cruises. Will expect only one cabin steward service soon instead of two per day like carnival.
 

 

 

 

are you through with your ranting? We just got off a upscale cruise line and we did not get towel animals. I guess for those who travel on the bargain lines like Carnival they are missed. For many of us, we really do not care a darn. I  would not feel like I was imposing if I asked for a towel animal. Why do you think people feel that way, have you, personally, felt you were inconveniencing them? I asked for  a coffee on our last NCL cruise as we were in an Ocean view cabin so they were not standard. I did not feel bad, nor  did our cabin steward make us feel uncomfortable. 

On 12/30/2019 at 9:38 PM, LorettaD said:

Just curious if these are still around or a thing of the past? On our recent Bliss cruise we had 2 separate cabins ( different floors) and neither got one towel animal. Seems odd.

You can request them but they are not automatic any longer. Think of the savings to the cruise lines: the animals waste a lot of towels that need to be laundered and take time to make. For many, they were not a big thing: I know for us, we had been getting them for years so it is no loss. BTW towel animals were not always part of cruising. I think the first one I ever saw was about 20 years ago. 

On 12/24/2019 at 6:40 AM, Bloodaxe said:

That's not what others have said, some cooked items were available buffet style.

I didn't mean to indicate cooked items were not available at the buffet, I was simply saying you can order off the menu of choose only the buffet or better combine your meal with both order and serve yourself. We did this on our cruise. We would get what we wanted at the buffer as starters and order our hot breakfast from our waiter. 

why no shrimp cocktail or escargot in the main dining room? 

1 hour ago, uktog said:

Yes there’s been quite a change in the lists and what they now contract to buy but always worth just checking with the bar manager as legacy bottles (of all types) can be onboard 

Though the wine we had on our AZ cruise a few weeks ago were very good, I was not overly pleased with the overall selection or wine and favorite drinks. I realize it was a basic package that is included in our fair, but no martinis come on. Why can you get a Gimlet and not a martini? Other lines also allow you to pay the difference for drinks if the price is over the limit which has been mentioned already. One of the couples we were traveling with did use OBC for upgrade the liquor package, but said he would not do it again because there were still several drinks not included. I guess it is up to everyone's choice, but I would not pay additionally for a package that is still limited within reason. 

On 12/15/2019 at 12:17 PM, tokidoki said:

All my platinum and up cruisers,  when you have your comp dinners, do u leave a cash tip, since its not pre-added, or can u use OBC?  thx

yes, we usually leave $5 or $10. Do we leave the 10 or 20 % no, nowhere near. 

On 12/19/2019 at 9:10 AM, TTU cruiser said:

Title says it all, Why does Norwegian only keep 1 ship in the Caribbean during the summer months?  It makes it really hard to book a NCL Cruise when he only ship is switching East and West itineraries that I have been on several times.

Probably answered a dozen time now, but I haven't read the answers: some lines do pull their ships from the Caribbean during the summer and place them in places like Alaska and Europe. Not as many as NCL but NCL seems to know what they are doing. there are many itineraries that attract guests than the Caribbean during the hot months and hurricane season. heck a lot of Florida residents spend summers away from Florida. That should be a clue.  

23 hours ago, Peachypooh said:

We just got off the Encore yesterday. I am swamped with holiday preparations so will have

to write a full review later in the week but if anyone has any questions I would be happy

to answer them. Thank you to everyone who did write reviews so far they were very helpful.

We were in the Haven  but spent quite a bit of time outside of the Haven especially

the Observation lounge. We had a good time and as always there were a few things we wish

were different but all in all it is a beautiful ship. 

Welcome back Peachy.  I know how you feel about being rushed. We got back last Friday and I have been swamped ever since. Now, except for picking up all the wrapping paper etc and making a corn beef ball for our family get together tonight I think I am caught up. This is the second time we have cruised a few weeks before Christmas, I don't think it is the best decision. 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

12 hours ago, Sauer-kraut said:

Progressive trivia

Lots of time just to unwind and relax

They will have added daytime things

Late night movies

etc etc.

I love trans-Atlantic crossings ..... I can really just decompress and relax

For those who love to cruise just for the relaxation and the special treatment I totally agree with you. We spent more time in the casino than we should of, but other than that we love trans Atlantic experience. You get to know more people, yes, trivia is so much fun and there is always something going on in the atrium. We were rarely bored on the two we have taken. When we couldn't find anything we wanted to do, we grabbed a book and either read on our balcony or would find a quiet place to read and have a few drinks or just take a short nap. 

8 hours ago, Deval said:

Definitely agree, and we experienced it this summer - we did the 10 night Italy/Croatia intensive.  We always do land in Europe but thought it would be a good way to get a taste of Sicily and Croatia.  We were so glad we did, only had 1 sea day.  We liked it so much before we got off last week we booked 11 day Greek islands for Apr 2020!  
 

The 5 days was a good sample for those wanting to try Azamara (which our friends did that joined us) but the longer cruises are overall better, food, entertainment, and service wise.  We still had a fantastic time, barring almost getting flung out of bed twice the last night with the bad storm we went through coming back to Miami!!

I am inclined to agree with you on 5 day versus normal length cruises. We have been on about 6 or 7 short cruises in our cruising life and non have given us the sane enjoyment of feelings we get from 7 to 14 day cruises.