PATRLR

1 hour ago, arxcards said:

They now say they can assign your dining at their discretion for day, time & restaurant.

Say what?!?  Who is "they" and where have you seen/heard them say this?

I currently have two reservations for the venue and date/time that I want.  Are you saying Princess can change that on me to something totally different?

I'm getting a kick out of this thread.  Over on the NCL pages there is discussion of how NCL has apparently eliminated all beef dishes from the MDR menus with the exception of the NY Strip which is available every evening (and is simply awful). One poster was doing a live report a couple weeks ago and posted each night's menus.  Sure enough, not one beef dish offered on any night in the MDR.  

15 hours ago, DaisyGoldberg said:

Between the large buffet and the meat selections, it's kind of an upscale buffet variety meal. 

I think that's a great way to describe Moderno.

11 hours ago, SteveM812 said:

I’ll keep the cabana and will check if there are cancellations.

curious - how much was the cabana?

11 hours ago, SteveM812 said:

Under Vibe it literally says too early to book.

I agree with others, try the web site, call, and if those don't work then keep checking back.

5 hours ago, SteveM812 said:

While booking it says the Vibe is “too soon to book” and come back 120 days out.

Where exactly did you see that?  Are you sure it was for Vibe that you saw it and not dining?  You went under "entertainment" to book Vibe, right.

If you had said someone told you 120 days, I'd say that person was confused.  If it's actually online and not for dining, then that would be interesting.

On 4/14/2024 at 1:35 PM, donnyo1997 said:

Any advice on the Vibe for the Viva and what do you get with the cabanas?

I'm not aware that you get anything other than a couple passes to the Vibe and the cabana.  Only advice I have is "enjoy".  Viva Vibe bartenders were great and strong proponents of "shot-o-clock" when we were there in December.

6 hours ago, TMLAalum said:

@PATRLR

We booked the Rodne excursion independently when we were in Stavenger.

Here is website: Norwegian Fjord Cruises - Rødne Fjord Cruise (rodne.no)

Hope that there is availability when you are there.

 

Thanks but that is what I was saying above, I thought I'd booked it direct but somehow I screwed up and hadn't booked it.  It's sold out now.

4 hours ago, hallasm said:

My plan for Stavanger is to walk around the old town with the beautiful houses and narrow streets. Old Stavanger (‘Øvre Strandgate’).
‘Nedre Strandgate’ 17 and 19 houses the Stavanger Maritime museum. The Norwegian Canning Museum is also located in the area

From there to Bryggen and ‘Skagenkaj’ and ‘Øvre Holmegate’ (Fargegaten) and Valberget viewpoint.
The Norwegian Petroleum Museum is also located in the area
Visit Stavanger Town Center, The Cathedral, City Park and Breiavatnet.

 

Thank you @hallasm.  Something like that is probably what we'll do.  Walk around town, see the sites, maybe the petro museum, eventually sit and have a coffee or wine or small bite to eat. 

We'll also look into doing some hiking.  I'd love to hike Preikestolen/Pulpit Rock, not sure if my wife can do it, but we'll see what else is available in the area.  

We'll enjoy ourselves no doubt. 

1 hour ago, Candy Apple 12 said:

What kind of upsell offers at Fogo? I haven’t been there in a few years but I don’t remember ever being bombarded with upsell offers. 
 

If you are used to the quality of food at Fogo, do not expect the same at Moderno. The cheese bread is just as good but Fogo’s meats are much better. 

I agree with all of this - been a while but I don't recall upsell at Fogo.  I agree with Bird that it would annoying to deal with.  

And definitely agree on the quality.  The national chains are much, much better than Moderno.

On 4/11/2024 at 11:24 AM, PATRLR said:

We are doing the Rodne small boat cruise in the Lysefjord when we are in Stavanger in July (on Princess).  We are doing it because quite frankly nothing else interested us in that town.  I would love to hike Pulpit rock, but, my wife couldn't do it.

Now I am really, really bummed.  I must have screwed up something and I never actually made the reservation for this excursion.  And now it's sold out.  Princess also offers a similar excursion (for 3 times the money and an hour less time), and it too is sold out.  Now, I'm not sure what we'll do in Stavanger.  Sigh.

On 4/6/2024 at 1:05 PM, BirdTravels said:

Multiple cruise lines are not offering Port Valet this year. It’s not NCL. 

And multiple cruise lines last year didn't participate.  But now NCL apparently has joined the list.  

A couple more nickels saved on the expense side of the ledger.

On 4/7/2024 at 11:51 AM, CaptJerry51 said:

I have now read all 23 pages twice, but have a question regarding Stavanger.  I am cruising this June on Royal Caribbean and will be on deck very early for the sail-in to both Geiranger and Flam to see and photograph the scenery.

 

We are in Stavanger on a Saturday from 8 to 7 and I am considering booking the Rodne small boat cruise in the Lysefjord to Pulpit Rock (not a RIB).

 

My question for anyone that has done this - I am thinking the Lysefjord scenery will be very similar to what I will already have seen from the ship of the fjords in and out of Geiranger and Flam.  I don't think Pulpit Rock from water level will be much to see.  Pulpit Rock is all about the view from the top.  So why take this boat trip?

 

mickeysgal back in post #511 on page 21 said she loved it.  I am 50 / 50 on booking it unless I hear another solid yes vote and why.  I can find some Stavanger city based things to do.

Thanks for any responses.  My wife can't make the hike up to Pulpit Rock and I don't think I want to go solo.

We are doing the Rodne small boat cruise in the Lysefjord when we are in Stavanger in July (on Princess).  We are doing it because quite frankly nothing else interested us in that town.  I would love to hike Pulpit rock, but, my wife couldn't do it.

On 4/7/2024 at 10:45 PM, AllHandsAstern said:

2) the open hours of eateries seemed silly in the context of our port stop and messed with what few places were actually open.

All aboard time was around 3:30 generally, but the powers that be only had the seaside grill and the local open after 2:30. The net effect was that both options seemed overwhelmed.

yep.  We were in Vibe and there was always a long line outside seaside buffet (which we could see from Vibe) during this time frame.  At least once, we saw the line going up the stairs to the speedway.  

21 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Thank you for your comment. 
 

Offering a wider variety of “foodie” (word used by a very astute poster above) is exactly what NCL is trying to do. Get rid of the past-it’s-time beef stew and offer more contemporary items like Chicken Madeira, Almond Crusted Hokie, Bang Bang Chicken and Shrimp, BBQ Mixed Grill, Chicken Cordon Blue, Asian Tilapia, Hawaiian Pork Belly, Pecan Crusted Turkey, Lemon-Peppered Coalfish, Chicken and Seafood Paella, and Braised Lamb Shank (a Bird favorite). 

If you say so.  Of course to the best of my knowledge, "variety of foodie" and beef aren't mutually exclusive.  Except apparently in NCL's MDRs.

57 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

NCL has always been on the forefront of catering to the contemporary cruiser. Attracting the next generation customer who will sustain the business for the next decade (until they become the old timers who just sail and complain like us). 
 

There was a total uproar on cruise critic when the deep fried fish sticks were pulled from lunch menu and replaced with poached salmon. And when the good ‘ole chicken noodle soup was replaced with pho. And when chicken fingers were replaced with rotisserie chicken.

 

NCL has always made a big deal about revamps of their menus (the last big one was in August 2021 with the pandemic restart). Time for new menus across the fleet.
 

And between, they are not shy about pulling menu items that are not selling and ending up in the fish food grinder every time they are offered. Midnight chocolate buffet with 10,000 pounds of chocolate being thrown overboard each week,,, history. Mac & cheese on the dinner menu,,, bye bye. 

Funny, I don't recall seeing beef eliminated from the Cagney's or Q menus you posted.  And I believe you said they had beef in the buffett.  Eliminating beef options from the MDR menus has nothing to do with "contemporary cruisers" (just as the entertainment changes didn't) and everything to do with cost savings and revenue enhancement.

32 minutes ago, TRLD said:

All we can do is debate bad cruiseline vs good cruiseline with absolutely no way to really evaluate the decision because we do not have the real specifics in this case.

Actually, my comments here had nothing to do with bad cruise line or good cruise line.  My comments were directed to a few specific people,who's opinions I generally respect, asking for clarity on an opinion they posted.  My comments really had little to do with the specifics of this situation which quite frankly I don't care about.

On 3/30/2024 at 4:09 PM, 7Contraveler said:

Absolutely NOT.. its like saying a ford car is the same as a BMW. 

presumably you feel the BMW equates to NCL?  Ummm no.

NCL and CCL are like Ford and Chrysler. Very similar products both targeting very similar demographics.

10 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

CDG is just a dreadful airport.

Agreed.  Back in the day I'd find an excuse to see a customer in someplace like Brussels, just to avoid CDG when ultimately going into France. 

12 minutes ago, European_CruiseGirl said:

The most horrible ”direct flight” that I know of is from Paris CDG to Papeete PPT Tahiti. It is actually a flight from CDG to LAX, refueling in LAX with all passengers out of the plane meaning each and every pax needs to go through immigration in LAX and have ESTA or visa if they are non-US citizens and then back to the plane for the LAX-PPT. For non-US citizens it is a complete horror story 🤯 

But you end up in Tahiti!  

13 hours ago, IAcruising said:

 

It's called "sail away" for a reason, man!  😄 It's a thing.

 

I would have no problem waiting for awhile. I guess the party would just last longer. But how long do you wait, and for what number of passengers, when no one knows if or when they will arrive?

 

Sure, if it's not known when the passengers will arrive of course you don't wait. But in this case supposedly there were passengers in the terminal.

"how long do you wait" - not so long that you are late to the next port.  not so long that you need to burn excessive amounts of fuel to get to next port.

9 hours ago, TRLD said:

Of course no one said that it was not the case either. Ships have itineraries planned pretty tightly and can absorb some delays. Any delay, if it can be made up means higher speeds and higher costs, or it means late arrival.

Not all itineraries are that tight.  Have you ever looked at tracking for a cruise you were on?  It's not uncommon to see ships travelling in circles to kill time, or, slowing down to a crawl or near standstill.  As I write above, I'm OK with leaving the pier to maintain schedule and to avoid excessive costs.  But leaving late doesn't automatically mean either.    

1 hour ago, mjkacmom said:

If they delay a ship, and it gets to the port on time, a lot of money was spent on fuel.

Not necessarily.  See what I wrote above.

1 hour ago, ColeThornton said:

Excuse the nit-picking here but "It's a direct flight"...I think you meant non-stop.  Direct flights can have stops but you just don't get off the plane.

Direct flights definitely can have change of equipment (get off one plane and walk to another).  The only thing that makes a flight a "Direct Flight" is common flight number.

2 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

As usual, Mrs. Schmoopie didn't listen to me. Imagine my surprise when their steaks arrived and they both raved about them. I thought this had to be an early April Fools joke. So I tried a bite, and they weren't kidding. Absolutely fantastic, and cooked perfectly. The next night I decided to go out on a limb and order one for myself. Again...perfection. Maybe the Jade is an anomaly when it comes to MDR strip steaks. But it was as good as the Cagney's filet we had earlier in the cruise.

Well, maybe coinciding with removal of the beef entrees, they decide they better step up their game on the strip steak.  One can hope.  Or, maybe it's just different sourcing.

26 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

I'm not. Why are these people flying in the day of embarkation? Getting left behind is the price you pay for that mistake.

 

 

So are you saying that you also wouldn't want the ships departure delayed?  May I ask why?  I'm not trying to be argumentative here with you or the other two posters.  I'm genuinely curious as to why anyone cares when the ship pulls away from the pier.  For me, I'd guess that on most of our recent cruises the only reason I'd even known we left was when I felt the ship moving and in the case of Miami, that would usually be well after the breakwaters.  NOTE:  If delayed departure would mean delayed arrival at next port, I am 100% in agreement.  But no one has said that would be the case here.

On 3/24/2024 at 11:00 AM, graphicguy said:

Personally, if I had driven to the port, boarded the ship, and heard it was being delayed because some first time cruisers hit bad weather and couldn't fly in, I'd say it was a tough bit of luck.

On 3/25/2024 at 11:11 AM, graphicguy said:

I know if I were on board and it was announced the ship would be delayed for some unknown amount of time because some people did not make their flights because of weather (or any reason), I would be upset at the prospect of a delay where no one knew if or when the flights would arrive.  The ship should absolutely sail as scheduled.

On 3/25/2024 at 12:44 PM, UKstages said:

i don't think anybody would support a delay of unknown duration "where no one knew if or when the flights would arrive."

I'm a bit surprised to read these statements.  I wouldn't care about a delay in departure so long as it didn't equate to a delay arriving at the next port (which no one has mentioned).  Delay arriving next port, I'm with you for sure.  Delay leaving Miami?  Who cares, I'm on the ship, I've got my drink, I'm good.

On 3/25/2024 at 12:12 AM, UKstages said:

i never met a union guy or gal who didn't love overtime.

Then you probably never met a union nurse.