sixesandeights

Don't most cruise lines have these or similar options?

Yes they do.

I think NCL will regret the moves they are making. Their new "mega" ships can not compare to RCCL's. IMHO it is not even close. NCL prices are now equivalent to RCCL and seem to still be on the rise. I thought I would stay NCL loyal for some time to come, but would much rather go on the RCCL ships for the same price then stick with NCL's every changing product. NCL's biggest "ding" in my book is their terrible communication. They make changes to people sometimes mid-cruise (and deffentaly after the cancellation window) which is unforgivable to me. Planned changes rolled out for cruises in the future (when you can still cancel if you feel the change reduces the value of your cruise) are one thing. Having to check this board weekly to make sure you still know what product you are getting is not. I think the gains NCL has seen are short term and they will begin to lose market share as people realize the other lines offer better value (Cheaper price - CCL or Better ships - RCCL).

6&8

What's the going rate for this medicine on the ships?

Last I saw they were 8.95 + 18%. I sail in 10 days and can check then. This should get you a drink with 5+ shots of liquor. Much better than buying a bottle.

6&8

They do have those events. They take place in international waters, where there's no tax to pay.

At sail away in posh/vibe they hand out plenty of free drinks. Still in port at that point....

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Only if you don't mind watching the ticats win ;). I think I may be on board during Super Bowl and was wondering the same thing

The super bowl will be shown for sure.

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Or more straightforward, whats the cheapest way to get liquor on the ship into my body?

 

Some of the drinks are high priced and basically sugar water with a small amount of booze. A frozen drink might have half a shot in it but cost $12, or those shooter drinks that come in shot glass but are filled with syrup.

 

Whats the cheapest liquor per dollar on the boat for people paying per drink?

 

Is bar service at $100 a bottle cheaper than a per shot basis on the ship? Bottle of wine for $30 or finding a cheap magnum bottle at the liquor store and paying the $30 corkage? What's the cheapest shot of 80 proof liquor at the bars, if quality doesn't matter?

Long Island Ice Tea hands down.

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Please save your breath telling me to post this on the Roatan board. I did, and received no response.

 

Has anyone here snorkeled at both Tabayana Beach and Maya Key that can give a comparison as related to snorkeling quality?

I cant answer your question, but I will tell you I have scuba dived all over the Caribbean and have had the most remarkable dives in Roatan. Visibility there is typically outstanding, the reefs seem to be in very good shape, the sea live is plentiful. I would venture to say that either location will be spectacular.

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Very helpful...I don't want a single thing on it! LOL

I said the same thing when I saw it. Very underwhelmed with the offerings. Expected more from an Iron Chef...

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The Thermal suite pass has been a thing for a while now.

This think they were referring to how on other lines there is free access to a locker room with a sauna, steam room, and showers. NCL made these features a paid option.

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As it's ending in the next couple of months on all of the ships, does anyone know what is going to replace it?

 

We'll be on the Gem in February and curious to see what will be there for our little one.

So far nothing.

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One more update for you. There is no 25% discount at Dolce Gelato with the UDP. It is excluded per the TOC. Here is the relevant line from the official Terms:

Chef’s Table, Jazz Brunch, Carlo’s Bake Shop items, Ice Cream Bar and Gelato are not part of the package.

6&8

I'm on Escape next week. I have the UDP from January for all 4 of us. When you say 1 meal does that mean I can only dine at the restaurant once in the 7 days? I have Moderno reserved for two different nights. Thanks.

No, you can eat in them as much as you want. With the old UDP you can actually eat in more than one per day as well.

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According to our TA, who was on a chat situation with management: the service charge was simple put into effect because of the huge crowds. At this time they do not intend to make it a permantent charge, and are just going to moritor the situation. Yes, if it does continue to draw huge crowds they will make the $4.95 permenent.

So far there is no charge so I have to assume you made this all up because you wanted to up your post count...

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Wondering if the bars on board the Jewel have ESPN2. Our ship leaves the same day as the Grey cup and I don't want to miss it.

Almost certainly not

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Could you elaborate please? We are booked on a New England/Canada cruise next September on the Gem, but have been toying with the idea of trying out the Anthem, which does a similar itinerary about the same time. The Anthem would cost us about $600 more.

 

The perks we have/would have:

 

Gem - UBP, $200 OBC, 3 specialty dinners (we are platinum plus one from AMEX)

 

Anthem - $300 OBC, Dynamic dining (not sure how this works), internet plan

 

We are using one of our "Cruise next" credits, I like the Gem's itinerary only slightly better. The trade off is Boston (Anthem) for Newport (Gem), but I just don't believe you can "do" Boston in a day.

 

It should also be noted that I have done this cruise before on the Gem, and we had a fabulous time, so I know we would have fun. Just wondering if we should give RCCL a try on what does appear to be a stellar ship.

The features on the newer Royal ships are insane. They have things that NCL can't touch. Robotic bars, observatory pods, sky diving, surf riders, bumper cars, high dive shows, etc, etc, etc. The Gem is an older ship with nothing close to these features. That's not to say the Gem is bad, but comparing the two is like comparing an NFL team to a high school team. Completely different leagues. As far as which is "better" for you that is completely personal. You have some nice perks on the gem, and maybe you don't care about the new wow features of Anthem. My choice between the two would be easy and I would choose Anthem hands down. The new Royal ships are destination on their own. Hope this helps.

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there was a thread here recently about not having anymore chicken fingers at O'Sheehans. what about chicken fingers in the mdr? is it on the kids menu? can someone please post a recent kids menu from the getaway? my kids are picky eaters and the one meal that i was counting on was the chicken fingers..

No, the O'sheehan thread was about mozzarella stick, and chicken pot pie. There are chicken fingers on the kids menu.

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We have the UBP for our December cruise on the Escape.

I have never done NCL before and don't know what to expect.

There are many foodies in our group. Will we be happy eating in the MDR most nights? Are there other dinner options included? Are the dining plans worth it or is it almost as reasonable to pay as you go?

 

I like to really research before trips and I'm finding it hard to feel like I know much at all about this one. When we did Oasis I felt completely armed with knowledge to have the best trip possible.

My mom is joining us too and her last cruise was in 88 and she's had no desire to try another so I'm hoping this is a good experience for her too.

 

While I'm here....any suggestions for threads or sites to really learn about how to make the most out of what NCL has to offer?

 

Thanks

We always get the UDP (now SDP) because the MDR food is not very good. The specialties are very good. Well worth the extra cost. We just factor the cost into our cruise cost.

6&8

Have a great time, she's a beauty!

 

Be aware, we're on the 3 day right now that was sold out. Too many bought the unlimited internet and it's probably going to take me multiple minites to send these two sentences. It is About 1/4 the speed of the Epic last month. The MTN internet manager says that NCL did not provision enough bandwidth for this size ship. I talked to the asst hotel manger who acknowledges the problem.

He is on the 3 day with you.

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So - if you have been following the various threads, there is some confusion about dining on the Escape and the various plans, etc.

 

I've started to put together a chart, here:

 

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1M2fq7q2sMMrqLdCPAfaA-JHrBd1qxjtdX4MjpFm1NjA/pubhtml

 

This chart is based ONLY on the official NCL dining guide, terms and conditions for the SDP and UDP so far.

 

There are some open questions regarding the UDP. For example, the T+C specifies a 25 percent discount at all a la carte but depending on how you read it, Cagney's is not considered an a la carte for this plan.

 

Also for the SDP not sure if there is any limit on tapas at Pincho for example or can you order as many items as you want at one sitting for the upcharge. As people confirm, please let me know (with copies of receipts if you could!) Same for Food Republic, etc...

 

Kind of sad I need to do this, but....

There is no entree limit at La Cuchina with the UDP, only le bistro and Cagney's. Moderno doesnt have "entrees" so to speak so there is also no limit there.

Here is the exact line from the offical UDP terms:

Additional main courses in Cagney’s and Le Bistro will be charged at $10.00.

6&8

Thank you!! How about instead of spreading hearsay and rumor, we actually wait for the truth before reacting? This board is doing more to hurt NCL's reputation than NCL's actual changes.

No, NCL is doing fine on its own. This board has accurately exposed changes well before the official announcement all year. This part was even partially responsible for the reversal f one such policy.

6&8

The Anthem is in an entirely different league then the Escape. Hands down would be my choice.

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Our cell phone plan does not cover calls from Mexico to the US. What are some suggestions how to keep in touch with family at home? Are there places near the pier in Cabo, PV, or Mazatlán from where you can call? Can we buy a calling card in the US and use it in Mexico? What does it cost to call from the ship? Are there internet cafes in port? Are they safe to use? Is using the ship's internet café a better option. We are seniors with no Wi-Fi or anything high tech. We do have email accounts but would prefer phoning. Any information would be sincerely appreciate.

What Cell phone service do you have? Do you have regular old style flip phones, or newer "smart" phone?

6&8

I think you misunderstood. Under both UDP and SDP, only one ENTREE per person per meal. There is an additional charge of $10 per entree. There are no limits on apps, sides, or desserts for either. The ONLY difference between the two is that the UDP can go to multiple specialty restaurants without it counting against a specified number of meals versus the amount of days purchased on the SDP.

This is not completely true. The entree limit is only at: Cagney’s and Le Bistro. Here is the line from the terms of the UDP:

Additional main courses in Cagney’s and Le Bistro will be charged at $10.00

At the others there is no entree limit.

6&8

Wow...a large bar in the District Brewhouse. Looks like you beat Captain Obvious to that piece of information. :rolleyes:

 

I'll have to disagree, because I believe that people using the other chairs DO, in fact, matter. They obviously mattered to the person to whom my initial post was directed, else we wouldn't be talking about it.

 

And, right...change to the UBP is going to be the BEST outcome if the bar continues to be a lounge without hitting revenue targets. The WORST outcome is the repurposing of the entire space.

 

 

What really makes no sense is that after all of the haranguing on these boards over getting NCL to serve the craft beer market, when they finally make that commitment and people don't drink the beers...they just sit around and stare out the windows. I'm certain FDR loves the idea of spending money to build specialty venues that don't generate revenue because they are full of people sitting and looking out windows. :rolleyes:

Again you are just saying words. They are considering a change to the UBP because they sold out of many beers. That means people WERE using it as intended. You invented the change being about people sitting not drinking.

Removing TDB from the UBP will lead to it being repurposed because people will not spend money buying a ton of beer when they can drink other stuff included with their freestyle promotion UBP.

You seem like the type to just continue to type walls of words with no true meaning so you can have your nonsensical rebuttal and I wont waste any more time responding to you.

6&8

FWIW...I was talking about space utilization/revenue generation, NOT about the UBP. Things make sense when we have a grasp of the topic at hand. I thought the topic rather easy to follow as I provided the quote and highlighted the applicable statement being expounded upon.

 

You said "If it is underutilized then a change will be made in the future". This is EXACTLY the point that I was making. So, I don't know how you can say "nothing you said made any sense" when you repeat my topic point. :rolleyes:

 

Whether they change the UBP or not makes no difference...if the space becomes a "sit around and stare out the window space" (like the Spinnaker Lounge on the Dawn & Star) instead of being a revenue space as NCL intended, then its just a matter of time until the space is repurposed....and you won't see the concept repeated in the rest of the fleet.

There is a large bar at the district Brewhouse. People using the other chairs doesnt matter at all. You also said word for word that a change to the UBP is the BEST outcome, while talking about utilization. That is what makes no sense.

6&8

We are on the Escape now, waiting for Margaritaville to open. The line is already long. There is no way this place is staying complimentary...

The logic doesnt follow. There are often lines for things like the slides, or rock climbing wall, etc. Are they going to put a fee there also?

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