david_sobe

The first time I had Crumbl cookies I thought there was something wrong with me. I love all cookies even stale cookies. But I thought the cookies were not good. Sure enough my neighbor brought us 6 Crumbl cookies for Christmas. They were horrible. I could not understand why they taste like playdough with all this fake icing. I googled them and found out they were made famous by Instagram. They look amazing. They are works of art. But its all visual. They are horrible tasting. A good pastry is about the taste, not the look. Try them and see. They are made to catch your eye.

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You may have solved this crisis. This is what I cut and paste: The word Antarctica is a proper noun, i.e. the name of continent. Example: “Shackleton attempted to traverse Antarctica.” The word antarctic is an adjective, which means ‘pertaining to the south polar regions’. Example: “Fossils of marsupials have been found in antarctic rock.” The word the Antarctic, capitalized, is a proper noun, and the name of the south polar ecozone. In a sentence the word is always used with the definite article (“the”). Example: “The Antarctic is home to a number of whale species.” Based on this, would it be correct to bring all sides together to state: NCL is offering cruises to The Antartica?

I think NCL answered that question for everyone. They advertised and sold cruises to Antarctica on the Star. The itinerary used the word "Antarctica." Now the word has been scrubbed from all future cruises on the Star. Its not this board that has redefined what a cruise to Antarctica is, its the cruise line.

The port is a hop, skip and jump from the airport. If ship is on time and no major problems with disembarkation it should not be a problem.

NCL will not change any explanation. They are locked in and will have no more comment. If they did change their statement things would get so much worse. Imagine if they said something like: Due to some propulsion issues the Star must sail slower and the itinerary must change. Heads would explode and NCL has many more sailings to do on the Star. This reminds me of one of those old Soviet Union statements. We can laugh at it because we know its not true. However no matter how much you protest nothing is going to change. You have no other option but to go on your cruise. Life is short. You will have an amazing time.

The package does not work for everyone. For example my next cruise will have 4 in a cabin with 1 non drinker and others that dont drink much. The package gratuities were over $600. If only one person in the cabin is a big drinker, it still does not save anything and will actually cost you more. Just imagine how much you could drink with a $400 or so allowance? You could get plastered every day and still not make out on the "free" deal. NCL marketing is like any other marketing. You don't have to take those "free" drinks. Depending on you and your cabin mates, it could be costing you more. If everyone is a big drinker then you will make out on the deal. I saved $600 during my booking process by simply declining the offer.

yes so true. Weather and so many other factors including ship issues can come into play. You would agree that the Captain explained why there was a change, no?

Clearly you did not read what I wrote. I was reporting what happened. No one disputes what you are saying. However every time a cruise line changes ports or drops a port, or remains at sea there is an explanation why. The captain will announce: Due to weather we must skip this port and remain at sea. Due to a mechanical issue the ship will have to seek an alternative route. I've even seen where the ship cannot dock because another ship took its place by mistake. Passengers are always informed of those decisions.

THANK YOU for taking the time to post while on the cruise. Your details explain everything. You nailed it. Clearly NCL is not enhancing the guest experience for those that wanted 2 days of scenic cruising instead of 4 hours. Those of us on land and in the peanut gallery who have never cruised to Antartica before don't know these things. Sadly NCL has sort of sealed the deal. I dont see them backtracking since that would make things worse. A simple, honest explanation is what customers expect. Customers will respect you for that.

Thank you. Thats sort of what I thought. But I swore I heard people talking about excursions on this thread. So no matter what, no one walks on the continent? That is for the specialized cruises that go there exclusively? Then its not really a cancelled port but a cancelled sail by?

I have a question about Antartica cruises. Some are saying that the NCL ship is still going to Antartica, Elephant Island. However on the NCL website its not listed on any of the south American cruises. The itinerary does have it sail past or stop at the Island but its not listed as a port. Was the cancelled port also like this or was it an actual port where the ship docks and people get off. I am confused by those who are saying the ship is going to Elephant Island. The maps on the NCL website just have the ship sailing past it and its not listed as a port. I think this is an important part of the discussion that I want to understand.

Is NCL telling us absolutely everything? Not exactly. They're also out of cookies.

To enhance our guest experience and for your convenience, the march of the penguins is hereby cancelled. ************************ total chaos erupts************************* (Airplane movie scene when the flight attendant announces they are out of coffee)

I am not rebuking the OP's opinion. But 3 weeks on a cruise ship would make me tire of the same meals. One week you cant taste everything in all the restaurants. But 3 weeks would definitely have you get to taste everything and the same menus would get tiring IMHO. I watched a video of a couple that lives part time on a cruise ship. One of their peeves is the same food choices day after day. On the flip side perhaps being on board for 3 weeks lets you examine the food more closely?

Does not every adult in the cabin need to have the drinks package these days? I just booked a cruise and that part changed since my last cruise in 2020. So I was confused with the OP saying 3 adults in one cabin and only 2 of them have the drink package.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Antartica is always a risk for many reasons. Anything can happen to change things. I feel for the Captain who has to parrot that corporate statement.

Honesty is always the best policy. Stuff happens and decisions have to be made. NCL got flamed many years ago when it would not cancel cruises and kept the Star sailing at reduced speed and changed ports. Cancelling the cruises would be a big financial blow. This statement is what annoys people: “To enhance the guest experience, the ship’s current itinerary was revised to allow more time for guests to explore Stanley, Falkland Islands. As such, the cruise by Paradise Bay, Antarctica was replaced with a cruise by Admiralty Bay,” on Antarctica’s South Shetland Island chain. Many if not the majority of passengers booked that cruise for Antartica. Is that not pouring salt into the wounds of the angry passengers. Worse things can happen on a cruise but I think the passengers deserve honest answers. Those rushing to defend NCL claiming an old existing slow order should understand that has been in effect for years (per the article). So why put Antartica on the itinerary for customers to book if this has been known for years? Something just does not make sense. I put myself in their shoes. I could accept if it was announced some mechanical issues made them have to change itineraries. That I can accept. But that statement is not honest IMHO.

This has blown up all over the cruise vlogs. Apparently the bucket list destination Antartica has been removed from the recent Star sailings after the passengers boarded. There is no explanation of a "go slow" order. No government issued such an order and its speculated that the Star has propulsion issues? NCL will not comment or explain it. Passengers engaged in a revolt in the atrium demanding answers. I get it. These cruises are so expensive and Antartica is a bucket list destination. I can't imagine booking this and then boarding and then being told Antartica is no longer on the itinerary since we have to go "slower." Yet its not explained why they have to go slower? Norwegian Cruise Lines drops Antarctica from itineraries leaving passengers furious - NZ Herald

Yes. I was thinking of the Sky and Cagneys being downstairs from the Aft Suites.

This is a personal choice. If you want a private dip pool and courtyard area or think you would enjoy that then go for it. I like aft balconies too. I personally love non-Haven Jewel class ships simply because they have all the perks minus the courtyard area. We are not big pool users on a cruise so I hate paying big bucks for something we may not use. An owners suite sounds great. You get soda and alcohol included but you are paying for that. Is not Cagneys aft on jewel class ships? You have one perk is that the breakfast and lunch restaurant is only one flight of stairs down if you stick with the aft suite.

Even though its advertised as a 24/7 restaurant I have heard others say it does close around 4 or 5am. I have never been out and about that late on a cruise to find out. If they are open, I supose its the same menu until breakfast comes along. Do tell us. You wake up at 4 am and eat a big plate of wings and nachos?

The concierge for platinum latitude members on NCL ships is a phantom that urban legend and folklore states exists. Like a sasquatch in the woods, some have claimed to have seen or spoken to the elusive creature. Like Santa Claus, NCL says they do exist. But has anyone ever seen or met one?

A recent Haven review stated there were giant and delicious chocolate chip cookies on the Prima. Y'all are never going to win those Haven upgrade bids again. Haven completely sold out for those chocolate chip cookies. Yet another reason to book an owners suite. Some passengers are even munching them during the embarkation process 🍪 But have you had those cookies! 🍪 🍪

I knew it!!!