djasinsk

I assume you meant oct 2023 above? Or were excursions really open 18 months ahead?

On pursuit back in October 2023 one of my frequent table mates just asked for some of these dishes to be made and they happily complied. One night he had them shared for the table as well.

I am doing this cruise in 2025. When did they open up excursions for this years cruise?

Lisbon is pretty compact and Uber works quite well and is inexpensive. The port is not too far from the tourist stuff but personally with only one night I would pick a more central location so you can quickly see the highlights. I stayed off Avenida liberdade which I would recommend only if staying for a few days. Find a place near barrio alto. Enjoy the neighborhood and then take an Uber to the port.

I did find out what the deal is with wine. None of the premium selections are kept at the bars open during daytime except in the sit down restaurants. The night club etc does have them. and the bartenders are instructed not to get it if customer requests it. so basically if you are at the pool for the afternoon and want a decent glass of Chardonnay their rules don’t allow you to have it. The whole reason we bought the package was because the standard wine they serve is the kind that retails for 5-8 bucks a bottle. Some people may like that and that’s fine, but we typically drink wine that is more like 15-20 a bottle and that is premium on ncl.

Thanks for all the feedback. It’s clear from reading the feedback of those who cruise ncl frequently that the kind of service I want is not available on ncl. It is what it is. Not angry or anything, just a little disappointed.

I think asking for room to be cleaned “next” not “on demand” as you stated is actually quite reasonable. Any decent hotel would do this for a guest. and asking that atleast some premium offering be available at each bar is also quite reasonable.

Hello j am currently on ncl star. I want to ask the brain trust here what is a reasonable service expectation. we upgraded to the top level beverage package mostly for good wine. Other than gatsbys it seems none of the bars such as garden cafe, top siders etc have ANY premium wine. I get they may not have a full selection, but to have none at all? Seems like a rip off to sell a package and then not have any of it available. is this really how it is supposed to work? I got one nice bartender to go get me a glass one time, but most just say no. I did get the manager to stock one bar with one wine we like, but she was clear it’s only for us and against the “rules”. cabin stewards. It seems our steward doesn’t want to clean our room when we ask him “can you clean ours next “ when we leave for lunch or a late breakfast etc. they just want to “do them in order” I am used to celebrity, princess, costa etc. I have never had these type of issues on other lines. is this how ncl is supposed to be. tried a polite expectations discussion at guest services and the gentleman spent the whole time answering different questions than being asked. Basically the run around. It seems I can get things marginally improved if I speak up a lot but feel like all of this should be automatic. how do others get good service on ncl? lots of extra tips don’t seem to help.

All I meant was proportionally suite passengers are much more likely to dine in specialty on any given night because it is no charge for them. All of the people I interacted with, the suite passengers did specialty a bunch and the non-suite passengers maybe just tried it. As for being full, my experience was if we were not in port, and it was not AzAmazing night or white party night in generally one could not just walk in and get a table during prime eating hours at specialty, whereas there was not once time there was a wait for MDR at any hour (including a 10 top at 7:30 once) It's just human nature to take advantage of something given to one for "free" when it costs others money, thats all. No offense was intended.

Just off pursuit. The main dining room is great. Did one specialty night at Aqualina. IMO the only reason it gets full is bc the suite passengers get it for free and dine there every night to “get their moneys worth”. There were only a few non suite passengers who used the speciality more than once or twice. It’s better yes, but for most just not needed to have good food and good service.

So Azamara just emailed me changes to our Asia intensive departing 20th April 2025. They are adding more Japan intensive cruises. I assume this changes the grand voyage from Japan to Athens in a major way too. they are offering modest obc with the changes, but what doesn’t appear apparent is my particular cruise goes from 18 days to 14. 4 less days. It doesn’t say they will prorate it down. just they will charge me my original 18 day fare or the new fare once they price it. shouldn’t I have the right to insist on a prorated fare from my original booking? (Ie 14/18ths of the cruise fare)? I expect the Japan intensive to be a higher fare because they are popular and I can’t take the alternative they offered. thoughts?

Just off pursuit. The event in in Ephesus was phenomenal. they did a great job helping those who needed a bit of extra help getting to and from the venue. I completely respect those who are frustrated because their limited physical abilities restrict what they can do, but on the other hand it’s not really fair to everyone else to not have an event because a single passenger has a limitation that does not allow them to attend. I don’t think there was anyone on the ship who could not attend the event if Ephesus as you could use a wheelchair over the rough surface if you were ok with a rough bumpy ride and I did see a few people taking assistance to get to and from one might need help from travel companion staff or fellow pax, but if one asked I am sure they could get it. this is better than situation at tender ports where if you are fully wheelchair bound you can disembark in most cases.

What’s strange about this thread is I just had my Israel Jordan tour cancelled and am looking to take my first Azamara cruise in its place. …but not to Israel, just weird to stroll by this topic.

Try 3-4x the per bottle price not 2x. NCL wine by the glass prices are completely non competitive in the cruise industry at this point. and even compared to land prices which are higher their price for brands like Decoy and La Crema are significantly more than most restaurants. ncl pricing strategy is clearly to make people “package up” to get decent stuff. Want good food, pay extra for specialty dining every day. Want good wine, 36 bucks a day extra. Good service? Tip extra over the $20 pppd.

I don’t think Norwegian passes on the beverage package tips to bar tenders and bar backs in full. If one assumes say 1/2 the passengers in the ship are paying $20 in tip per day for beverages thru FAS. multiply that out and you get 20-45k in tips for bartenders PER DAY. divide that by max conceivable bar staff on ship 50? 75? 100? Depends on which ship. that works out to $400 per day in tips per bar staff. Not including cash tips, premium plus tips, and a la carte tips. there is zero chance ncl is paying their bartenders this much even if tips are their compensation in full. the tips may go in the compensation pool, but it’s not just for bartenders.