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.

Ah! So my initial instinct might be right? Perhaps, not an accident or incompetence? It's a terrible thing to think of a crew or staff member, but if it's on the menu they clearly know what it is. One needs to realize this could be the case.

Seeing that photo of the grilled cheese, I initially didnt think it was accidental or due to incompetence. Then I realized. Grilled cheese is not on the osheehans menu. So basically you have people for whom English language is second or third. Western food is not their normal diet. So it’s most likely it’s a communication and training issue. Your waiter didn’t know what “grilled cheese” was, and communicated to the line cook what he or she thought you meant and it went horribly wrong. yes, very incompetent and they should of course have asked you or asked for help. But the fact is cruise lines are still having trouble filling jobs. So enforcing good service via losing their jobs or having contracts not renewed doesn’t really work like it used to. That’s most likely why your talks with management are not getting results. I think my own plan for my upcoming cruise is to just bribe all staff I encounter with extra cash. I shouldn’t have to, but frankly I just think that to have a good experience that’s what I will have to do.

Doing the Lisbon Rio cruise later in fall. I don’t expect gourmet, but know if I am in mdr and the food is mediocre it would sour my mood. I am fine paying as long as we get a worthwhile bump in quality. Appreciate your getting back to me.

Does the garden cafe have a decent salad bar on the star? For both lunch and dinner?

@YVRteacher if in one of your posts you could tell us or inquire with others aboard on the improvement in food quality (and service?) to be expected if one pays for cagneys or le bistro each night? It works out to 75 bucks a day for a couple to eat there every night so would want to know it is meaningfully better in quality.

Sooooo glad I am on an 18 night transatlantic in November which will minimize chances of this kind of “family” encounter! Yuck!!!!!

I booked an ncl transatlantic from Lisbon to Rio to avoid many of the issues mentioned in this thread. — cold weather and having to be inside among the biggest one. the most consecutive “at sea days” ont is cruise is three when it leaves Cabo verde (off coast of Senegal) and heads to Recife. 18 nights. Great pricing. Norwegian star. Nov 24th.

Something bout taking a really expensive liquor and putting it into a drink where you can’t tell the difference from it or another liquor jus because you are rich or have paid for it seems …. Just wrong..

I am from DC, so I was intrigued to read your take on the star. I have cruised a lot, but mostly on celebrity never on ncl, and never on a 20 year old ship. Found a kick-a$$ itinerary on the star this fall for Lisbon to Rio and can’t resist going. Super excited. Not too many sea days (crossing just three days) I appreciate the candor, will probably bump up the specialty dining (cruise is very inexpensive), and just make the best of it and enjoy the 11 new ports I have never been to, and the sun and the balcony and pool during this warm weather crossing over the equator.

Hi there. First time ncl cruiser (previous celebrity, most recently in suite using upgraded restaurant). Headed on 18 night Lisbon Rio transatlantic this fall on the Star. 7 sea days out of 17, the rest are in port. my question is around how to maintain flexibility to use specialty dining but still get a lot of value. 1. On these long cruises esp transatlantics. Are specialty walk ins usually available between 630-8? We like to be flexible and go when we feel like it. 2. Are they strict on 24 hour cancellations? If so, are they flexible say if you book for 8pm and show up at 630? 3. We don’t mind paying for the specialty dining but the price per meal goes from 60pp per meal for two meals to 30pp pm when you buy and pay for a large number upfront (the latter charge being what it costs to upgrade from a say 5 meal package to a 6 meal package is $30 for the one extra meal). Is there any way to get this 30pp price point but not commit all meals in advance? 4. Ideally we would like to just decide where to dine from buffet to mdr to specialty each evening when the time comes, but if we don’t prepay it seems like places like cagneys would cost $70 80 or even $90 bucks each if we were to order everything. just trying to figure out how to be “free style” but not pay more than needed. suggestions welcome!