PATRLR

I don't agree with tipping the cabin steward in the manner you do. But I'm not going to give you heat about it because of course that's your business not mine. The people I'll give heat to is NCL. In my opinion there should be an explicit, unambiguous, publicized amount of the DSC that goes to the cabin steward. Then I can make an informed decision about whether I want to give more and if so how much. This idea that the DSC replaces the gratuity (the weekly envelopes) but we're really not sure how much the steward actually gets, if any, is for the birds, IMO. PS - I've never seen anyone tip the omlet chef. I've done it at hotels but often there is a tip jar there. I usually get couple things from the omlet station, I might start doing that myself. Especially if they do a good job.

If you got the drink package as part of Free at Sea, then the tips for your drinks are paid. If you hapen to get a drink that costs more than the allowed amount (e.g. $15 for base plan), then they will automatically add $20% tip on the overage. If you didn't get a drink package, then any drink you buy will have 20% added automatically. Some people tip additional for exceptional service. I'll do this, particularly if a bar server is giving me good service or perhaps to encourage good service (tip so that hopefully they remember me and give good service). This additional tipping is entirely discretionary and having a handful of dollar bills with you on board helps. I'm sure Euros work too. Where things get confusing is that some people go as far as to say that the DSC is NOT gratuities. I disagree. Let's be clear - If you get a drink and/or dining package as part of Free at Sea, you will be billed for 20% of the cost of that free package to cover the gratuities to the drink or dining servers. If you buy a drink or dining package or upgrade a drink or dining package, or you buy a drink or food that is not included in a package (e.g. Starbucks coffee, Coco's sweets), your bill for that package/drink/food will include a 20% adder to cover the gratuity. That 20% you pay for the "free" packages and the 20% adder on bills is different from the pre-paid Daily Service Charge (DSC). The DSC covers the gratuities for your cabin steward, main dining room servers, buffet servers, and countless other back of the house workers.

Is Vibe all that much different from an excursion with a limited number of seats? I think of the Tracy Arm excursion we did in AK - only 1 boat with fixed number of seats, when that excursion was sold out, it was sold out. I consider it the best excursion I've been on, it's a shame others didn't get the chance to experience the the glaciers as up close and personal as we did. Seems everyone should have had that opportunity if they wanted to. Is Vibe really all that different? I like that you can pre-purchase and my hope is that you can purchase as soon as the cruise is able to be booked. That will encourage/reward pre-planning.

Yeah, that would seem weird to me from either side - either as the dripping wet person or if I was trying to eat a sit down lunch.

No, I didn't miss post 151. You quoted post 145 and stated: It is that sentence that I disagreed with. Reading BennyBrun's Posts 145 and 153 it is very clear s/he is discussing ordering food to go to take off the ship on an excursion. What BennyBrun was reporting had EVERYTHING to do with taking food off the ship (stated in Post 145). Yes, there were subsequent stories from other people about past cruises relating their stories of taking food from the Local, but those stories are not what the live poster was reporting. Post 151 was written by someone else, not BennyBrun (the live poster and author of post 145), and is an example of these other stories, not an example of what is being reported by the BennyBrun, the live poster.

I do not agree with your interpretation of what was written in that thread. Look on page 7, update 153: My interpretation of what happened was that someone wanted their entire breakfast packed "to go". Of course they aren't going to do that (not to mention the problems with taking food off the ship). But generally speaking, if you want to take your food from any of the restaurants back to your room (or wherever) I believe most all restaurants and servers will gladly put some plastic over it and send you on your way.

Just curious, have you ever had a good quality triple malt? Like you, I used to think Scotch was awful and then I had a friend introduce me to high end Scotch. Those are a whole different world from that Cutty Sark stuff my father drank. Tequila is the same way. Most of it tastes like gasoline to me. Then I had a guy in Cozumel introduce me to "real" Tequila (his words). Stuff was actually drinkable. Also like $100+/bottle and no I didn't buy any.

This is Cruise Critic where people come to learn things. I stated I didn't get something, you explained one possible reason. Thank you, that's the way it's supposed to work, is there a problem? I don't understand why you wrote "you obviously don't care". I care enough to have posted it, didn't I? If you infer that I don't care, I guess that's on you.

I'm another one that has no desire to meet the officers. Another one I don't get is the people who invariably ask during a live review "Can you post who the officers are?". Does it really matter? (I guess it does to these people, I just don't get it)

Someone posted the Prima menus on Facebook. Maybe somewhere here too. They are definitely expanded with, I'd guess, about double the choices of the rotating menus. Regarding the Specialty menus being static, yes they are static but you don't eat in the same specialty restaurant every night like you would if you wanted to eat in only the restaurants that were included in the cruise fare.

Well, at least ping pong tables would get used.

Yeah, I understand exactly what you are saying. The reason I don't consider it NCL nickel and diming is because all the lines are doing it. And that is what I was discussing in the previous reply. But there is no way I can disagree that it's the number one nickel and dime practice across almost all cruise lines. Well, I'm still a bit nostalgic for the days when cruising meant good food. If you want good food, you need to hit a specialty restaurant. Good quality fine dining - something that used to be included but now you have to pay for. That is why it qualifies as nickel and diming, IMO. It's just not an NCL unique practice. With the rollout of the single, static menu in the MDRs, soon you are going to need to hit the Specialty Restaurants not only for fine dining but for variety. Again - variety, something I used to get for free, but now I'll have to pay for. I believe NCL is leading the way with the static MDR menus, but, I expect all the other lines to follow suit soon.

On a different note: Do you really believe that a major selling point for cruises is the food? Back in the 80s and earlier it may have been (although I'd argue it was the overall "being pampered" experience), but by the time we got to the 2000s and nearly every ship being a mega ship, cruising because of the great food was a thing of the past. At least for me it was.

I don't think hostility is quite accurate, though I understand if that's what you infer. Perhaps annoyance is a more accurate description of my mindset. I disagree with statements that NCL doesn't nickel and dime, but, I get annoyed with statements that dismiss my examples of nickel and diming as not real or not accurate. Accusing me of selective reading as another poster did doesn't help. No, Specialty Dining is not nickel and diming, IMO. That's just an unfortunate side effect of the lowering of the food quality that has happened nearly industry wide. The crepes were a simple example. And I think I said words to that effect when I wrote it. I don't think I've said anything about "ruining" my cruise, so, I'd appreciate you not putting words in my mouth. In fact, I haven't really said anything about the impact of nickel and diming on my cruise experience. Guess what - it has no effect. I know it's what NCL does, I know it's their business model, I expect it and plan for it and enjoy my cruise. What I am not going to do is bury my head in the sand and deny that it exists.

You betcha Selective Reading is a problem. And you are just as much an offender as others. Let's start at the beginning. RumRunner2021 said "I have sailed NCL many times, and never encountered any "on board nickel and dime BS." What are you talking about?". A reasonable question to which I replied: To which you replied, dismissing my crepe's example: First, you are wrong when you write "the ones in Cocoa's are not the same as the ones from the buffet" The fact of the matter is, every crepe and add-on I could get in the buffet, I can get at Coco's. And they are the exact same size, they are the exact same crepe griddles being used. Crepe with chocolate sauce in it and whip creme on top? Used to be free at the buffet, now I need to pay at Coco's. EXACT SAME crepe. The fact that I can get fancier crepes at Coco's doesn't matter. The EXACT SAME crepes I got at the buffet, for free, if I want to get them today, I have to pay. That's a real and valid example of nickel and diming. As for your ice cream strawman, I am pretty sure it's a moot point because the soft serve machines are still up in the buffet area. But, if they weren't and the only way to get soft serve was to buy it from Coco's, then that would be nickel and diming. The fact that Coco's also has that obnoxious concoction you posted a picture of is irrelevant and not an example of nickel and diming. It also doesn't matter that you prefaced everything with "depends on what is important to you". I was answering a question with an example. Importance to me or anyone else is irrelevant. It was an example of NCL getting cash from people on board (which they have been clear is their business model) and it was a direct response to Rumrunner2021's specific question. Important to you, me, or anyone else is irrelevant to the direct answer I provided to the question. "Important" might be relevant to whether you or I or anyone let's it affect our decision making process, but, it is irrelevant to citing an example.

Did you search for previous posts on this topic? I am pretty sure this has been discussed before and someone stated that the HDMI inputs had been disabled. To others reading this, the question isn't whether there is an HDMI port of even if you can physically get to the port, the question is whether once you've plugged into the port, the device will receive/recognize your input.

thanks. I guess I stand corrected. I know I've done it in the past, just not sure how long it's been since I did it.

Wow. Out of curiosity, if you don't mind my asking, what airline?

I've never seen this in a US domestic airport where the ticket counters were open. This would be very surprising to me at LAX if it were true. Assuming you can check you luggage on arrival, I'd drag my feet in the morning, enjoy a leisurely breakfast, get off the ship when they kick you off sometime after 9, Uber/Lyft to LAX and spend the rest of your day in the lounge.

100% agree. In my opinion, the "loyalty" is one way. Unfortunately, it seems most of the cruise lines have similar attitudes.

OK, so we can agree there is an example of NCL nickle and diming. And that's good for you. But just because it doesn't affect you, doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Just because the crepes may be bigger at Coco's doesn't change the fact that crepes used to be free and now they are not. Correct me if I am wrong, but, you can still get soft serve up at the buffet. Is soft serve now gone too? If soft serve is now gone from the buffet and the only place you can get it is Coco's where you have to pay for it, then that absolutely is another case of NCL nickel and diming. If something used to be free (crepes, ice cream) and now the only way to get it is you have to pay for it, why is it so hard for people to acknowledge that these are cases of NCL nickel and diming? Well there has already been a number of examples given right in this thread so there are at least some people who know what it means and can cite examples. Just because you don't see it, doesn't make it not true. Just because you may not like it, doesn't mean it's not happening. You know what's another weird tradition? People who feel NCL can do no wrong and seem to defend them even when it goes beyond the obvious. There's a name that was traditionally used but that is not allowed here on CC anymore. Doesn't change reality though. Why so you can dismiss them simply because they aren't something you'd buy? I'm not going to waste my time with you. Read this thread closer, already cited: Water, specialty coffees, crepes, decent wines. And that's wonderful to hear, I am happy for you. But that doesn't mean nickel and diming isn't NCL's business model.

FWIW, this is actually a true statement. I am a lifelong wearer of Levis and a few years back I noticed a change. I asked Levi Strauss about it and after pushing them a bit, they acknowledged that they changed the material they are using resulting a different jean than what they had been selling. This was a great report and I look forward to the next one. We're on the Encore in November, so, love hearing about this ship.

A good example is crepes. For all the NCL ships I've been on they are available in the buffet for free. But on the Bliss (and I assume all the newer ships), they are only available for an extra charge in some storefront with the ice cream and other goodies (CoCos maybe?). Something that used to be free but now needs to be paid for. It may seem minor and just a couple bucks but that's not the point. It used to be free, and now its not. Sure, one solution is don't buy it. An alternative solution is to go to a different cruise line that doesn't go out of its way to find new ways to extract money from us on board. Just because one solution is "don't buy it" doesn't change the fact that nickel and diming doesn't exist. C'mon - the most recent earnings call they all but said they were going to ramp up the nickel and diming.

Agreed, of course it's cost cutting. Surprising to me how many people don't see it that way. We're getting to the point where we'll be cruising more frequently and longer. This will affect our decision on longer cruises and I suspect it will be more encouragement to cruise other lines (not that I needed more encouragement) Sure they have. I'm only aware of minor tweaks to the menus in rotation the past 7+ years. But "rotation" is the key - there were built in changes.

If they step up the quality, it might be OK. But if it's the same chain restaurant quality meals we've been getting for years then I see this as something that will just force more Specialty Dining (which of course no doubt is there intent). I really hope the "Signature Taste" is a nightly special. Glad the lava cake made the menu, now if we could only get them to do it like Carnival does 😉