cdnsteelman

Just now, NLH Arizona said:

Hopefully you gave him an extra tip to make up for it.

LOL: I didn't change my tipping habits - I just didn't feel as good about it after that.

Many of you are probably already aware but I had a few rather frank and detailed conversations with a dealer while waiting for the hold'em table to draw enough players on a few nights. He let it slip that the house takes 60% of dealer tips (all table games) with the remaining 40% shared among dealers and other casino staff.

Well wine drinkers, the news is not good in my opinion. The new beverage package fared quite well from my perspective EXCEPT in the space of wines by the glass under $15. My iPhone is crap so my menu photos aren't good enough to post but I've extracted a list of what's available by the glass under $15... I'm a red drinker so I'll not comment on the quality of whites but every red I tried was somewhere between having notes of propane and battery acid to a barely passable substandard at best. I know this is harsh and others may have different opinions but as I've taken the time to create the list, it comes with my opinion as well ;)

Reds by the glass under $15

Estancia Monterey County pinot noir $9.95

Hogue Merlot $8.95

Gerard Bertrand reserve speciale organic Cab Sauv $8.95

Bolla Chianti sangiovese $7.95

Torres Altos Ibéricos Crianza tempranillo $10.95

Norwegian North & South proprietary red blend $9.95

Bodega Monteviejo festivo malbec $8.95

Recanati kosher cab sauv $9.95

There is not one single full-intensity red available anywhere near $15. As an example Emblem cab sauv (a passable red at USD ~$40 for the bottle at bevmo on dry land) is a staggering $31.95 by the glass. Given that you get a 4oz pour on NCL, that's an unconscionable 5.75 X markup when you include the 20 per cent grat. The Bertrand organic cab sauv listed above for $8.95 is a light-to-medium intensity wine best suited to stripping paint so don't be fooled by the name - it is not a proper cab sauv if that's your red of choice.

Whites by the glass under $15

Romio extra dry prosecco $10.95

Voga Provincia di Pavia moscato $9.95

Woodbridge by Robert Mondavi white zin $7.95

SA Prum Essence Riesling $9.95

Le Rime Banfi pinot grigio $9.95

North & South Norwegian Sauv Blanc $9.95

Gran Araucaria reserva DO Sauv Blanc $7.95

Santa Alba Valle de Curico rose $7.95

Recanati kosher chardonnay $9.95

Chateau Ste. Michelle chardonnay $8.95

Spellbound chardonnay $9.95

FYI that Romio prosecco above sells for about USD $8 / bottle in stores on dry land.

The numbers speak for themselves. Your opinions of quality, of course, are every bot as valid as mine.

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

If someone asks, I always recommend $5-$10 per person in the room per days of cruise as something extra above the Daily Service Charge, for working from early morning to late at night servicing your room twice a day. 

I'm in the $5 pp / per day zone as well and often I leave it daily or every couple of days like I would in a land hotel.

A - depends when you're sailing. Spring Break or other times when kids are out of school it will be busy, other times not.

B - I've not heard of them denying registration (I guess its possible but somehow I doubt it).

C - I have witnessed them turning away kids when a session was full. In other words if you show up late for the evening session you may not get your kids in if it's busy. When we did spring break on the breakaway if you didn't start lining up ~20 minutes before they opened in the evening the line was miles long and the kids at the back didn't get in.

D - That's the only time there was ever an issue in all my cruise history with kids.

I would do this in a heartbeat but I'm very used to tight connections and the process of rebooking the 1-in-20 times I don't make it. So do self-debark with your own luggage as early as they allow (A - find out in advance where they will start self debark from and get there ~15 minutes ahead of the suggested time, B - have everything you need handy for the customs agents, C - pre-arrange your cab / car service or page your uber on your way out of the customs hall).

I'd say you're ~95 per cent likely to make it but have a back-up plan in case you don't. Also keep in mind this 737 8Max thing could still be impacting airline schedules into April.

8 hours ago, esm54687 said:

One clarification - OP clearly states he's NOT cruising with his son so only ONE package required.

My bad - I misread the OP

On 3/14/2019 at 6:02 PM, emarismom said:

I have an i phone and so does my my son. I will be on a cruise this summer without him.  If I purchase the social media package, will I be able to message him from the ship? Do i just put my phone in airplane mode, logon to the ship's wi-fi, and then message as usual?  I just want to make sure I am understanding correctly.

One clarification - you will BOTH need to have some sort of wifi package to accomplish this as only one device can be connected to an account at a time. If you don't otherwise require wifi you could both download the Cruise Norwegian app and pay the one-time $10 per person fee (for the entire cruise) to activate the guest-to-guest communications feature of the app and txt back and forth that way. It would still be substantially cheaper to do this and buy one social media wifi package to share for your other needs as opposed to buying two social media / unlimited wifi packages.

There is no size difference between an inside and a family inside. The family inside simply has the ability to sleep 4 with a lower bed that can be two singles or a "queen" and two "pullman" beds that come down from the wall / ceiling - there's no "couch", its more a very small two-seater. The pullmans would obviously come down partially over the main bed. On the Encore, however, a family ocean view can be substantially larger than a standard oceanview and can sleep 4-5... apparently some even have bathtubs.

Hope this helps.

You're getting the one that covers drinks up to $15.

If you're going to get an internet package like "unlimited" there is a discount if you buy it in advance.

31 minutes ago, spanishguy1970 said:

maybe this is why they raise the prices every year, they figure some people will go to the Guest services desk to adjust the gratuity.

In this age of big data they can predict with great accuracy what percentage of passengers will reduce or remove the DSC. While I don't often use the term nickel-and-dime, this is exactly that. As @newmexicoNita suggests, the $3.50 per person on a 7 day cruise will be hardly noticed and is in line with what other lines are charging. As such, NCL seems to be adding half-a-buck a day annually and giving it a year to soak.

Here's some quick math... the double-occupancy boiler plate guest capacity of NCL's 17 ships is 50,494. For the sake of simplicity let's assume the average annual occupancy at 90% (I have no idea if that's right but it seems reasonable). Without getting into differentials for suites etc. a 50-cent per day per pax increase creates a "nickel-and-dime" revenue stream of slightly under $8.3 million dollars for the year.

I don't wish to get into whether that money is actual bookable revenue as a DSC or not but it is fair to say it costs NCL NOTHING to garner another ~$8.3 million annually.

4 hours ago, BeachyBoo said:

May 2019 cruise on the Breakaway. I wonder what would happen if we can’t make it? Go back to Nassau??

All but one of my 5 GSC skips has become a sea day with one being a dash to Nassau.

2 minutes ago, MikeBTN said:

This is not necessarily true. I’ve missed Costa Maya and Falmouth in the past, which both have piers. Strong wind and/or waves combined with massive ships that sway in said wind/waves can cause serious damage to piers as well.

The real point isn't that weather can't stop berthing at a pier (I've missed Cozumel and Costa Maya in the past) it is that the success rate would be far greater at GSC with a fixed pier as compared with the current tender situation. Debating that seems pointless to me. If GSC wasn't a private island it would not be on the NCL circuit given the unpredictability.

I am zero for five at GSC (various Sun, Breakaway, and Epic sailings)... someday I assume I'll set foot on that island LOL. In each case it has been due to ocean conditions related to tendering. On one Sun sailing they started tenders in the morning and I was going to go across after lunch but the conditions deteriorated and they suspended outbound tenders and struggled for several hours fighting the waves getting everyone already on the island back to the ship. While it would not 100% fix the issue, a fixed berth like they have constructed at Harvest Caye would clearly increase the success rate.

It's all smoke and mirrors. To get the UBC you pay a higher cabin fare just to get to the "perqs" starting line. Mileage may vary of course but if you have a delta of ~$300 / couple between a sail away (no perqs and NCL chooses your cabin location inside the category you pay for) on a 7 day cruise then your UBP costs you $580. For the sake of math if you don't get the UBC and assume a per drink cost of ~$15 (including the 20% grat) you get ~38 drinks over the course of your sailing for that $580 (far more quantity for beer and basic wine and less quantity for premium drinks). So, in this example, if you are a four-five drink a day couple, book sail away and save a bit of $$ and if you're a six + drink a day couple get the UBP perq along with the ability to choose your stateroom location and you'll be ahead of the game.

The best case scenario, IMO, is if you can still find a GTY rate (includes perqs but not stateroom location choice), for a similar price to a sail away rate.

Because the programs all vary by cruise line there is no absolute answer to which line is better from a price point in general. If you are not cruise-line specific, find an itinerary you like for dates that work and price each offer out with the inclusions you want. If anyone believes that RCCL or Carnival or HAL or Celebrity aren't trying to maximize revenue like NCL is then you're not paying attention.

22 minutes ago, Relax Cruiser said:

And no fine or anything? Why was her passport at reception?

No fines or issues of any kind. I've been on a few cruises where they've kept passports from certain nationalities. It had something to do with her Schengen visa having limitations on it I believe.

We fired a nanny three stops in to a 14-night med cruise and flew her home from Mykonos to Istanbul. No advance notice with NCL. She collected her passport at reception and checked out like at a typical hotel and took a cab to the airport. The cruise originated in Venice and ended in Rome.

32 minutes ago, spanishguy1970 said:

they may just be fishing for data to see how much you would be willing to bid

Absolutely this! Much of the bidding process is a data mining exercise. The cruise machine is all about big data now and the more data points they have the more accurately they can predict and, therefore, bank on the upgrade profit centre. I suspect they don't make any single-transaction upgrade decisions but their systems are able to calculate the highest margin on a series of nested upgrades. They LOVE it when people simultaneously place bids on several upgrade opportunities as it creates even more options for maximizing profit. Big data informing some level of artificial intelligence is driving so many trends in our daily lives right now it is mind-boggling.

12 minutes ago, AdoraBelle said:

Unless you paid more money for the 'streaming' package, which NCL frequently cannot deliver and probably shouldn't offer on the megaships. 

The premium internet package allows streaming but offers no addition bandwidth than the standard wifi package - the ONLY difference to the premium "streaming" package is that they don't block the ability to stream. Seriously - don't pay for premium expecting faster service because it is NO FASTER.

Just now, newmexicoNita said:

Thanks, but we have put our deposit down: damn!!!!!! You are kind to offer or just need to unload yours.  Either way, thanks for the offer. 

No I use mine all the time - I wouldn't have charged you I would have just transferred it to you and when you sailed next you would buy some and transfer one back to me... cashless... clearly you're trustworthy so it wouldn't be an issue. I'm sailing in 8 days and will be buying more... I usually buy them in pairs.

12 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

totally agree and for those who say "never again" on matter what their reason is, they might want to try other lines and see if the concerns either the same or they find a line that has other problems. I think the saying "never say never" needs to be remembered. We said, before our cruise last month it was going to be our last. We were so sure, we didn't purchase a future cruise certificate. Well we hadn't be home a week when we booked another cruise and are paying more because we didn't buy a certificate. 

Nita if you haven't booked and paid yet I'll transfer one of my certs to your name and you can replace it on your upcoming cruise to save the $$. Let me know. Jeff

The only time this will "end" is when they devise a new program that will be even more profitable than the current one. Cruisers are voting with their wallets. From NCL's perspective (and that of other cruise lines) if capacities are trending level to up from previous years and revenues per passenger are increasing, the promotion is successful. All the communication coming out of corporate is about driving profitability (and nobody should be surprised that a corporation wants to do just that).

IMO NCL is no longer just competing with other cruise lines as much as they are trying to capture a share of the All Inclusive beach vacation market. The product is starting to feel like a ~3.5 - 4 star Mexican AI resort that costs a family of 4 $3-4K in shoulder season and $5-6K in peak season.

The other trend I see is that NCL is moving away from discounting to fill ships because - in general - they find the discount traveler isn't spending much more once on board.

6 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

Do you know what the age limit is, or is it just if they order off the kid's menu?

Not sure of an age limit (mine are 6 & 8 and its never been an issue - even at Teppanyaki... although we try not to do it there often because of the limited seating... we always ask if there's a seating that isn't slammed to try to be a bit respectful of that venue's capacity limits). We also leave a bit more of a cash tip for the servers because of the extra effort they go through to deliver the kids' food.

9 minutes ago, RedwingHockeyFan said:

But for me, I get tired of all the "Avoid NCL because their internet sucks" or "Avoid NCL because you have to pay service charges on free perks" or "Stay away from NCL because the Epics beds aren't rectangular"..."I'll never choose NCL again because I had a bad steak at Cagney's"....

I completely agree with this sentiment... the upside of this community is when people share their experiences good and bad without the absolutism. I've attuned myself to ignore the "never again" (said it myself once about HAL and it turned out to be a lie LOL) and read through to understand the underlying issue. The fact is satellite internet is what it is on ANY cruise line so saying never again to any cruise line because of poor or non-existent internet is - essentially - saying never again to cruising IMO.