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Everything posted by mking8288
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According to one of our extended family's relative - head of housekeeping for a major hotel chain, bring a 3 oz. bottle of vinegar onboard, dilute that 50%, and run it thru the 1 cup coffee-maker ... allow the mix to cool in between deep rinsing, repeat - then, run thru 3 to 4 cycles of tap water. It should get rid of lingering coffee taste/flavor in subsequent hot water brewing. But, I'm told that the water doesn't quite reach the ideal temperature for proper tea service. What do I know, I'm a coffee drinker. Yes for Bubble tea with milk, however 😁
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Just a FYI & cautionary note about doing any one-way cruise to/from Quebec - please be sure to carefully check out and review ground transportation options available, unless you are doing a B2B. Amtrak just briefly resumed (this Spring' 23) NYC to Montreal thru train services, suspended since Covid shutdown ... before "freezing" the segment north of Albany thru/across the US-Canada border into Montreal (it's about a 11 - 12 hour ride ... done that, long) As of this week, limited services continued or available only as far north as Saratoga Springs, NY (which is just north of Albany, less than 1 hour's worth of driving time) Services on the entire length, "expected" to return to normal by mid September. This has nothing to do with NCL. Flight options between Montreal and Quebec are infrequent and limited, NCL Air booked might leave cruisers trying to find their way to/from the port ... and/or requiring an extra day of travel time on top due to train, bus & regional commuter flight schedule. https://www.insider.com/amtrak-adirondack-train-suspended-from-albany-to-montreal-2023-7
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A lot has changed since 2019 ... Latitutdes new tier pins, collect them ahead when you sailed. Housekeeping is now once a day except for Haven (and full suites). Coffee/hot water maker, ice bucket and robes are on request only for balcony & even club balcony (formerely "mini") "suite". Luggages are now often delivered later in the afternoon as staterooms (aside from Haven) aren't often ready until 3 to 4 pm with reductions in housekeeping services, not necessary b/c of crew shortage as on 2 of our recent 2023 cruises, GM (formerly the HD) reported that ships are "fully staffed" but maybe they are counting based on the reduced headcount census. Onboard entertainment undergoing major changes this year, fewer production shows in the main theater & toward lounge/comedy solo/duo acts. Shorex prices has gone mad, IMHO, grossly over-priced but sweet deals can still be found for solo cruisers. Specialty Dining package & add-on prices skyrocketed as well, in part, to boost that 20% gratitude charge automatically added. Upgrade Advantage bidding are sometimes live bids for Haven, winning bids nowadays are possible at 7 to 8 plus weeks out and no longer cutoff at 48 hours, processed as late as embarkation day (afternoon ... onboard, due to last minute no-shows/cancellations). Ships are basically sailing full these days, but not for Alaska sailings, apparently ... last minute deals plentiful. DSC has gone up quite a bit by percentage. Non-refundable OBC cannot be used to buy CruiseNext Certificates, unlike then. Just one ship this coming winter out of NY, the Getaway & fewer sailings with stops in PC and/or GSC and even Nassau (fewer chats of "tired of the old milky runs") whereas Dockyard is now almost a year round stop and/or overnight stays for shorter sailings, even into late November ... Closer to south Jersey, Baltimore got one of the older mid-size ship doing (seasonal ?) runs out of there (haven't really look closely at availability schedule) so those in MD/DE & PA might find it attractive. Parking & ground travel costs in NYC in 2024 is going to go up higher with congestion pricing. Out of NY's Pier 88, embarkation day remains sometimes chaotic and disorganized, but facial recognition now used for disembarkation do seem to help on the morning rush ... scheduled sailing time are now moving toward later in the day at 4 to 5 pm, as late as 6 pm on a routine basis as turnaround time are taking longer. Last but not least, satellite WiFi onboard NCL ships remained being the "leader" 😳🙄😳 in being among the slowest and most expensive across cruiselines in the U.S. market, only the Breakaway gotten upgrade to Starlink earlier this year with the rest of the fleet's "announced" roll-out stalled in pilot & testing phrase, until 2024 for select ships only ?? - starting with the newest ships (Viva, soon to join the fleet ... next month) and the Prima said to be among the worst. That's more than a handful, I am sure that a few other notable changes are missed & omitted, and some will have their own spins & impressions of the changes, for the better or ... 🤔 To each her/his own, decide for yourself - out of NY, you are just as likely to find old CC friends over at MSC and Princess, along with Royal & possibly even the Carnival vessel now homeport in NY. One of our nieces hopped over to Cunard's QM2 ... their food, goodness 👌 Should get you going to research. Cheers !
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Entertainment Cutback Concerns and Real Disappointment
mking8288 replied to cusematt4's topic in Norwegian Cruise Line
Bring back the Jean Ann Ryan Productions from the "old" days, seriously ... just kidding, can't afford them & then it was NCL Productions that taking over. @Red-Sol - OMG, listening to that FW Mac video in my 72 Dodge Demon then ... can't held but to admit, getting old. -
Decide for yourself, 🙄 🙄 🙄 this is being shown ahead for one of our upcoming sailing with multiple full sea days ... solved our problem of trying to find an ideal dining time, including specialty restaurants, and we will thoroughly enjoy a leisure 4+ course meals without rushing in lieu of rushing to line up 30 to 60 minutes before the lounge act(s) for that 45+ minutes live 😳 😳 😳 Different strokes for different folks ... with AI full speed ahead, perhaps the days of virtual 3D onboard entertainment aren't going to be a pipe dream. Why bother wasting that main theater space - pending that "announcement" ahead about new, exciting and innovation concept of redefined entertainment.
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Deck 11 and 12, Fwd/Mid by the elevators & stairs, there are a # of semi-secret large angled balconies (listed as "BA" and or "B4") priced as any other regular balconies, right next to the "official" large balconies ... nearly just as deep, easily fit 3 loungers outside with room to spare - like the ones we booked for our 15 nights TA, and, all without taking out the regular balcony chairs. The tiny end/coffee table outside, however, is just way, way too small - identical to the ones on other *Away/+ ships. DW was truly surprised when we open our cabin & walk in, and I pull her out to see the semi-covered balcony (from the overhead cabin's flooring) - it's like 3 to 4 times the size of the *Away ship's regular balconies - easily move to a spot/corner to sunbath or to opposite corner to stay in the shade. Our steward brought us a third chair ...
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Tips on getting a 20 year old cruise credited to account
mking8288 replied to Viajera7's topic in Norwegian Cruise Line
Checking our Latitudes account's cruise history before - it seemed that sailing history dating older than 2005 were not always included, but 2 were restored & credited from 2003 and 2000, it's been so long - we might've 1 older NCL cruise missing ... not a big deal to chase after. Worth a try, back in those days, NCL mailed out printed confirmations and our TA issued our paid-in-full reservation statements with all the details, etc. Oh, color luggage tags mailed. They're listed as "Res Arch Cruise" with the booking reference numbers and the ship name, etc. September 28, 2003 Res Arch Cruise 2653xxx Norwegian Dawn May 10, 2003 Res Arch Cruise 2440xxx Norwegian Sea -
Excellent birdeye views images from @shof515 - very, very helpful to tell, worth a thousand words ++ each. That Portland, ME pier has a very long walk (on the Joy last September, done exactly ... by the time we reached the exit / gated entrance, felt like we could use a rest break) If lucky, maybe it's for one & only (smaller ??) ship, which we did with the Dawn pre-Covid ... able to be berthed next to the terminal building & much shorter walk. I believe for Halifax, cruise ship sometimes has to be dock at the industrial pier inside the port (with multiple cruise ships arrival for the day) - requiring a complimentary shuttle ride out to near the bus staging/waiting area - as walking inside the active & busy port facilities aren't allowed for safety and security reasons. Concur with @ggTexasGal and @RN_Prof that best option would be to contact NCL Access Desk now and see if they can provide wheelchair assistance - otherwise, consider renting or bringing a lightweight transport wheelchair, etc. to get around. Sidenote: one of our SIL will be returning to cruising for the 1st time post-global shutdown as she now adjusted to using a rollator-walker for longer walks, instead of just a walking cane - will be bringing that foldable walker along this September. Embarkation & disembarkation, already confirmed with Access Desk at NCL to use wheelchair assistance in NY ... otherwise, she is going to be fine getting around the ship. But, she is going to stay onboard at 2 of the tender ports to relax & enjoy ... probably for our Portland stop as well ... hopefully, will be fine when we dock at the other ports. She just turned 78 recently, in relative good health & managed to exercise and go to the park for walking - happy to be able to resume cruising and to be on a cruise.
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@dbrown84 Assuming you have priority tendering or booked on a NCL shorex, you can then head down to Deck 4 (usual for Escape's tender dock platform) with the lined already formed & proceed ... 5 to 10 minutes aren't unusual by itself, for the next available (think GSC private island) lifeboat - don't believe larger tenders are available or used. NCL ship will be using their own "smaller" lifeboat - easily 10 minutes, if not more, to fill up before it can leave for shore. A quick, simple & easy ride ... another 5 to 10 minutes to be secured at the dock, and by the time everyone is cleared for zero count & ashore ... it's another 5 to 10 minutes, if not more. Looking at no less than 30 to 40 minutes each way, assuming harbor conditions are calm, smooth seas and not windy ... and there's minimal vertical movement between the tender gangway and steps down/up from the tender lifeboat, ship's safety crew watching on both ends just in case. That is what it is like, sorry ... Escape (Joy) etc. probably sailing at or close to capacity, it's going to take a while to get all the cruisers that wish to go ashore to "shuttle" via the tender. Then, reversed on the afternoon return ... lines get pretty long when busload returned & get dropped off, usually moving along at a good pace. Haven & suites get escorted with their shortcut to access ... all others, join the regular queue to board the big ship. It's a very scenic harbour & beauty town, even if you don't want to or plan to do any land tours, shops & restaurants, bars, etc. are all within a 8 to 10 city blocks area, with a slight uphill - good & comfortable walking shoes ... ditto, true for other 3 ports. Enjoy & have fun - don't miss BH's fresh lobster rolls.
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Bar Harbor is the one & only tender port, about 30 minutes each way with the line to join the herd & get off at the pier. Excellent lobsters/rolls on the waterfront & you can look into tours via NCL or private ones at very competitive (and better) prices. Portland, St. John & Halifax will be docked at the berth, waterfront & downtown are either a short 10 to 15 minutes walk or a quick shuttle/Uber ride. We're on the Joy last September, except didn't have a planned stop at Bar Harbor (can be a pain with the big ships and especially if this stop is on the return, likely need for everyone to clear US-CBP before being allowed to tender ashore) - if you follow the underlined link before, you will see photos & some of the places we visited a year ago ... also did one pre-Covid on the Dawn. Weather - check the forecast before finalizing your packing - should be good, have a light windproof jacket & maybe a fleece or vest, just in case - walking shoes & a (refillable) water bottle. I'm guessing it's likely going to be the Joy ?? unless NCL got one being launched out of Baltimore. With a busy port schedule, it will keep your occupied & busy, enjoy dining & you don't need to play at all onboard. Cheers.
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"Upgraded" cabin on Spirit is worse than our original cabin...
mking8288 replied to bstreep's topic in Norwegian Cruise Line
Interesting "assumed" conclusion from OP, where does NCL map the location of their "special departed lounge" onboard the Spirit or any of the the ships in their current fleet ?? I stand corrected in my interpretations. -
Going to assume that you are looking at the Epic balcony or up, since there are no "oceanviews" on her. Rooms are cozy & looked on pictures as being equivalent to the ones on the Escape or other *Away class NCL ships, they aren't - the main bed(s) are partially "recessed into the bottom of the headboard, cleverly (anyone over 5' 8" will need to pull firmly at the bottom/base to fully extend the mattresses. Ditto for the pullout convertible HD foam sofabed on the Epic, unlike the Escape. We recently spent 15 nights on her doing TA, fine with the separate toilet & shower "closets" and the wash basin/sink in the main cabin nearby - there is a sliding curtain to extend across for privacy, a bulldog clip or something equivalent will help keep the curtain "closed" as needed. It could use a retractable or pulldown shelf to hold towels & while changing clothes coming out of the "bath" area. Cabins that sleep up to 3 have the sofa nearest to the entry/bath-shower area - and are better for 2 ... 3 will definitely be very cozy, access to the balcony is more challenging - especially with the current housekeeping services being given 1x daily ... We're also able to score an angled large balcony (one of many "secret" ones) at regular balcony price near mid-ship/Fwd. Follow signature below to click link to view the Semi/Live Trip Report, tons of photos in there. IMHO, if you've done the Escape & never tried the Epic, and the price is "right" - consider sailing the Epic at least once, can't really go wrong - pocket the money saved & enjoy the ports, spend it there. Happy cruising & cheers.
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@ziggyuk - would this (CC'ers opinion/review) help ?? regarding cabin noise w thrusters https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=662975 Not sure if those are any bigger ... I know on the *Away/Plus class ships with some (maybe a handful of them, which we onced booked pre-Covid, but upgraded & never got to see or use it) of the Insides on Deck 5, they are more "squarish" than rectangular (typical NCL ship's Inside cabins) Found this YT Video from the GEM - #8001 (fairly recent) latter part showing the Inside cabin ... look basically same as most other Insides in these older mid-sized NCL ships. https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=662975 Additional pix if you go to cabin #8507 along with #8001 - from the GEM, my Google partner BARD couldn't find anything specific to the Star ...https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/deckbydeck.php?ship=Norwegian-Gem&deck=8 Cheers
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@Royals Carol - This is a fairly recent YT video for #8609 (8109 is identical) accessible Inside. It is "roomier" than the typical Inside for ships like the Gem & the Dawn (probably - not 100% sure - alike with the Spirit or Pearl) The bathroom and roll-in shower is quite spacious (by NCL/ship standards) and practically the same as the ones for the accessible Obstructed Oceanview (there are 8 of them just ahead of the AFT elevators, in a semi-private corridor to/from O'Sheehan's toward the midship elevators, stairs & atrium lobby below. Only one of the 4 elevators take you straight down to deck 6 - the MDR, making it 100% accessible. One of my SIL uses a foldable rollator-walker these days when needed but otherwise, get around with her cane onboard. That foldable will fit in 8609 just fine ... however, I'm 95% sure that you are likely going to have difficulty putting the scooter inside, maybe. There really isn't a whole lot of room to move around. It is best to call & check with NCL's Access Desk as they should know and can advise you. Depending on the price difference, I would probably advise my SIL to plan ahead and book one of the accessible, obstructed Oceanview cabin instead - it is "larger" and those cabins can sleep up to 4 with the 4th being an upper pullman that drop down from the wall. Below is an old, very old thread that go back to 2009 - discussing accessible cabins on the Star - our SIL was in one (Jewel #8102) of them - 3 adults sharing ... scroll down and you can see 3 beds across, with plenty of room in the remaining middle space in the "center" of the room. When bed #3 isn't needed or use, it is quite roomy (but, it still doesn't come close to the accessible Oceanview cabins for the *Away/Plus class ships)
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Roll tightly & squeeze as much air out before stuffing the bag, after doing an itemized inventory count first, as the laundry department needs an accurate number ... in case, claim is made that item(s) were lost. We began using those ultra-light, elastic plastic shipping bag (Amazon, LL Bean, Land's End, etc.) as liner/insert for NCL's thin paper bag ... leaving duct tapes alone for emergency use. Our trick to not let things fall out is to use a t-shirt or something similar, fold that & put 1/2 on the bottom side and the other 1/2 on top and cover, effectively sealing the bag/plastic liner. Room steward/attendant then bring it down in the morning (picked up by 12 noon) and usually return to us, wash & folded by late afternoon or evening of the following day. S/he has plenty of the bag special "coupons" around and the laundry operations run 24/7 around the clock, more or less. Alert the steward ahead to collect them in the morning - have yet to hear that the offer is valid for one bag only. The bag is about 30% smaller these days but we still managed to get a lot into each bag - 2 bags worth (ours done free entirely - 4 in total during our 15 nights) came back in the laundry basket.
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How to force ncl.com to be in English?
mking8288 replied to fstuff1's topic in Norwegian Cruise Line
Are you sure about that ?? I just managed to get into 2 overseas portal via NCL - like this URL below https://www.ncl.com/jp/ja/ Maybe, the difference being that I'm on my desktop browser's VPN, so they aren't able to geo-track my access to switch to the "appropriate" country/language sites. I know when we're onboard cruising thru Portugal & Spain, that the "English" portal wasn't coming up automatically and default to EU locations, probably b/c we've on ship's satellite via oveseas location. VPN (using it) is a blessing for sure - my setup has Google One's VPN integrated but additionally, we use a standalone VPN (less than $3 USD a month based on annual subscription) that truly stopped most tracking, etc. etc. on multiple devices/connections. -
Joy was designed & built originally specifically for the China ("Asia") market, the pool deck was small as originally built with the outdoor space, and marketing had different ideas and expectations then ... which didn't materialize ... pulling out in a year's time, sadly but didn't surprise me at all, with the faulty assumptions. Perhaps, with this dry dock 3.0 (or, is it 4.0 already) - compromised changes for the "better" - to be fair, not going to be happy campers (cruisers) all around, giving some while taking from others. For revenue purposes, to restore and put back some of the balcony cabins in a section of the OL that're originally designed & built with (the plumbing & wiring, etc. were capped & cleverly hidden behind panels & under the floorboard / ceiling tiles, etc. - can't "fault" NCL for doing that ... the lifeboat capacity isn't an issue here. Getting rid of the under-performing laser gaming & pavilion space for something else instead aren't necessary bad ideas (both times, to us, the space was wasted as it was not utilized well, not at all & only open at select times for short durations) ... Our balcony cabin on Deck 15 were near/underneath the virtual pavilion and at times, feel the vibration ... not that it really bothered us, but will be glad to not "experience" that midday and/or in the evening 😆 😁 A leaner and more compact OL is better than being onboard another ship (like the BA, GA or Escape) without one at all ... now, if they can add new stairs that lead to/from the garden cafe, one deck above/below, that would be a nice & welcoming addition, huh ?? Wishful thinking, doubtful that will be done. With an open mind, I will wait until the work is done & finished to see what it looked and what we think of it then, reserving opinions. And, if that does help with getting out of debts and restoring their balance sheets, I'm okay with that ... leave that DSC alone and slow down, easy on the next batch of increases in fees & upcharge, those are getting out of hand fleetwide. While they are doing the work, bring on Starlink or equivalent before next Spring, other cruise lines are way, way ahead of the game AND charging less for it ... different strokes for different folks, I know & not an important elements in cruising to many.
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With regards to what @Sand and Seas was referring to ... when we're on our Epic TA with numerous sea (7 or 😎 days, as otherwise ... the MDR aren't likely to be open for lunch, we did realized that a slightly different lunch menu were presented, with enough variations but not completely changed. Will go thru DW's Goo Photos to see ... never got around to finish sorting or post some of the ones that I've missed (was going to put together a slide "show" of food items only ...) Going to be looking for these - bay scallops gratin onboard NCL again, in a few weeks. 😉 😋 🤔 Meanwhile, other lines are enhancing the onboard experience, including complimentary dining & late night snacks ... while making changes & "managing" their costs ... NCL #cough #cough might need to do a bit of catching up, no longer "always" leading the pack.
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Wow. Thanks for that "heads up" OMG - imagine the "horror." Me think, NCL has 😬 our healthy heart & enhanced diet 😮 in mind, for our convenience 😤 too; of course - going back to the dated "Cooking Lite" menu of years gone by 😉 It's not a deal breaker by itself and not going to ruin our upcoming cruises on NCL (too late, hahaha - final payment made & insurance isn't CFAR either and "Covid" isn't a valid claim to cancel and get reimbursed in the form of FCC) - just gonna deal with it as always, always room for humor along with patience & tolerance. We'll "miss" those crispy hash browns but not going to hassle the crew and F&B manager, etc. - but ... maybe it's just a one-time logistical issue. Disappointed, not going to sweat it, not until it reach a thousand cuts. As for the lava cake, DW always said it's too sweet for her taste, besides - she has no plans to risk elevating her A1C beyond borderline and I'm not going to risk going higher than 5.5, went up by 0.1 on the last CBC workup to 5.4. Otherwise, it was a great cruise, huh. Thanks for an excellent report - maybe, we'll return to the Joy after her 2024 dry dock to see the changes.
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Short answer, as others already reaffirmed is "no" Of course, it is not an absolutely guarantee - YMMV, as always -changes can be done, with and sometimes without advance notice, but unlikely, me think. We're onboard the Epic not longer ago (15 nights, from mid April thru early May) and the nightly MDR menus were used in rotations, based in part on provisioning, FIFO availability - there are a few Every Day menu items on the bottom left ... otherwise, the starter & entrees, and desserts were different. Epic, like other ships (and, even the "pilot" Prima switched back & moved away from the "experimental" MDR singular menu nightly. For sit-down breakfast and MDR lunch on sea days, the Epic presented 3,900 guests with different menu choices with variations ... breakfast with 2 daily specials, rest of the items weren't. But, if it isn't to your personal "liking" - feel free to go to the Garden Cafe (buffet) or O'Sheehan's. BON APPÉTIT and happy cruising.
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@Aaronscat and @MrsTabs Again, thanks for sharing for others to see, know & appreciate with your details. Congrats & well done. Bidding isn't for everyone but for the odds & chances that we sometimes are willing to risk and take, the "payoff" can be rather rewarding. We ended up recently (2022) when ships weren't sailing full, with a very nice "BA" category, balcony on Deck 15 Mid/Fwd for a very reasonable, low bid with a port intensive itinerary, perfectly okay if we didn't win & happy with our chosen OV for 2, one without the extra pullman/upper bed. We're "disappointed, not ... in "failing" to get a larger club balcony (mini) suite, LOL. It's often very difficult to generalize but within the past year, including some of the 2023 sailings, NCL apparently started processing and accepting bids to upgrade early. Have a balcony booked ahead at our preferred & chosen deck/location ... probably not going to be "bidding" up since this (among the newest) ship has more spacious cabins as a whole, including the "larger" balcony ... but, we might put in a very low bid for the fun of it & see what happen. Happy cruising and cheers !
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@MrsTabs and @Aaronscat Congrats on getting a balcony at 7 to 8 weeks out, that's pretty early unlike ... anyway, each sailing / ship / itinerary do vary and sometimes with the available upgrade cabin categories. Were yours in the fair (or higher) zones or poor, barely moving the needle ?? (my feeling is that it's over in "fair" and/or just beyond "poor". I hope that that NCL assigned each of the winning bidders this early on, a decent cabin in terms of deck and location, etc. In years past, balcony upgrades were held & not done until a lot closer ... nowadays, it seemed like once they are done with taking most of the Haven bidders and the spa/club suites, the balconies joined the musical chairs in getting shuffled around next. Toward the end (closer to sail date) extra revenues collected and NCL still get a good # of Insides for last minute fire sale, including last minute "solo" specials ... sometimes but not always.
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On the JOY from NY to Bermuda 7/16-7/23
mking8288 replied to T BYRD's topic in Norwegian Cruise Line
Interesting, look forward to reading about what changes NCL Joy made this year to those "SC" Inside Family 2 bedroom suites with the virtual balcony (dual displays) - we booked & stayed in 2 of them last May (Deck 10, one deck below yours - equivalent of 11525, across the hallway from yours and 11531) Behind one of your bedroom, that large "white" space is the room attendant/steward's work & storage room, where they stock & come in out ... with luck, you should not hear doors being slammed & chatting behind the wall. If they are, just speak to your steward directly to let him/her know - otherwise, it is a very quiet area & "private" corridor, and, convenient access. Those "suites" across have a slightly different layout, primarily in that living room with the sofabed/couch. It is very spacious and just 3 of us sharing the cabin in each of them. If only NCL would give that living room a little more "fanicer" decorations and some extras, better curtains for that virtual balcony - it would look much nicer. Have you gotten 1 of your 2 special "treats" delivered yet (by room services team in a service cart, not a butler last year) - either today or tomorrow and another one later in the week ?? Don't be shocked but ours were ... wow, from last year (see below) Curious to see ... I contacted/left a note for the GM, and the follow-up was delegated to the asst. manager for guest services, a special "treat" & bottle of wine was subsequently delivered. You probably received a welcome letter upon embarkation - is Patrick still the concierge onboard (or, someone else) but we never found the need for services nor did we heard or get to meet him during our weeklong stay, that's okay. Same with help with booking dining & show reservations - the number to dial was (for us) actually routed to the CruiseNext team, but do give it a try if you need assistance. We're able to get help on hidden dining times by directly going to the reservation desk downstairs (calls often just ring & go unanswered, no voice mail options for a call-back) - but, we are Sapphire & supposed to have priorities anyway. There should be a nice umbrella in the main bedroom closet for use - in case it is needed for those brief Bermuda showers that quickly pass thru. The sliding bathtub clear plastic doors made a lot of noise, sliding back-n-forth as we encountered very, very rough seas en route to Bermuda ... lasted about 12+ hours overnight, made it almost impossible to sleep on top of the rocking & rolling. Solution & quick fix, FYI - grab those towels, wet them & use it as "stoppers" to prevent them from slamming & banging against the rails, worked for us. Looking at the video, looks like the bath gel/wash & shampoo/conditioner are not 100% wall mounted, we got upgraded toiletries last year ... Toward the end of your cruise, you should receive also specially colored priority disembarkation tags to use ... useful if you are in a hurry to disembark & get home to MA. Otherwise, enjoy the last morning & go to Taste or Savor to do a sit-down special breakfast first. I do believe that you can get "escorted" to cut to the front of the line at the gangway for priority disembarkation, look for a letter and/or instructions with the luggage tag. If not, check & ask at the CruiseNext desk - or, try the concierge contact as given. With the nice square dining table, not a bad idea to have room service, or perhaps a hot breakfast delivered (don't believe NCL will "waive" the charge, but ... I stand corrected as YMMV) All the PPV movies available in the stateroom are free, no charge (2022) - enjoy them. How's the Joy satellite WiFi now ?? Enjoy Bermuda & the Joy, look forward to reading about what's new and different, and your thoughts about the suite's perk nowadays and values added. -
Any NCL Ambassador members on Cruise Critic?
mking8288 replied to chloemonkey's topic in Norwegian Cruise Line
Four to five years ago, there're about 40'ish, maybe 50+ Latitudes Ambassadors in the program and the numbers reduced to 30'ish in 2019, from my recollection. During the our recent TA, there're some onboard (as usual, always on the move & cruising) and the rank had grown significantly to 300'ish - per CruiseNext, probably boosted by the double & triple points to leap forward.