graphicguy

Just had my memory jogged….had a “Bloody Brains” shooter on the Breakaway a month ago. Did it on a dare (which is never a good reason). It had multiple ingredients, mostly to make it look terrible. Had a terrible texture, too. But, the bartender made it and I drank it. Not sure what that proves other than I’m not the sharpest knife in the kitchen.

Never bothers me as much these days. I get some one going to the restroom or maybe back to their cabin for something they forgot. But, if I spy a lounger or pool area with some items saving the space, I’ll do two or three rounds around the pool deck. If they don’t return, I take their “stuff” to the attendants. Once, after I had been at a lounger for about 90 minutes, someone approached me and said I was in their spot. Told them I had been there for an hour and a half. They asked what happened to their stuff. I said I didn’t know, which I didn’t. After the attendants have it, I have no idea what they do with it.

You’re right. It’s actually a blended whiskey. I was thinking of Beam!

Maybe it’s an availability thing? Crown is definitely not a premium bourbon. I don’t know where they get their restocking…maybe outside of their home port in the U.S., and that makes Crown more difficult to get? But, the liquors I’m familiar with were readily available. And, they had several drinks on the menu that had multiple liquors. I disembarked the Breakaway on 11/6. Mostly drank at Syd Norman’s outdoor bar and the Atrium Bar. Asked the bartenders at both for some pretty crazy concoctions. Not once did they give us any pushback. I saw one English guy drink 3 straight Long Island Iced Teas (which has multiple different shots). He was wobbly and excused himself to go to the bathroom. Didn’t see him until two days later. LOL! I never asked for Crown or an Appletini, however!

Interesting conversation. But, what it really boils down to from behind my keyboard is shifting from… …getting guests from wherever they are on the ship, to their cabins to get their life vests, put on the life vests correctly and then getting them designated meeting places….. To Now (or lat least up until a week or so ago), the process was/is… ..get the guests from wherever they are on the ship, to the designated meeting place, give them a life vest and show them now to put it on. Is one better than the other? I dunno. It does seem the latter has fewer steps and offers crew more control. But again, I’m not trained in any of that.

Yeah…I think there are some rules they have for fare drops to apply. One of them is a time period before sail date.

WOW…good to see you back on the boards!!!!!! I’ve never paid any attention to the original fares on ANY cruise or cruise line. They’re all inflated so they can constantly run sales. LOL!

Former NCL crew perspective….

May 14, 2023!

If the fare is paid, then you’re past the refund period. So, best bet is to test every day until or if you are negative. If you test negative and you still don’t go, you lose your part of the fare. It won’t affect your cruise partner. They’ll just cruise in the cabin as a solo.

Insurance secured. Flights booked. Now, the waiting period……… Yawn………………………….. Dug up some pics from my last Meriviglia cruise in the Mediterranean 5 yeas ago (to the week)….to die me over!!!!!

I know nothing for a fact, as I’m not crew. Just saying given the seemingly recruiting challenges they claim to have, being a little more liberal with access to public areas seems a small price to showing personnel they can have a life outside of their work and I95.

They’ve always been pretty liberal with my alcohol, too. Actually, I find they have a stronger pour and/or alcohol mix than many of the places on land (i.e TGIF, Chilis, etc). Regarding bottles in your room, pricey indeed, as others have pointed out. But, it’s available. Customer Service can help you with that.

Wondering when this bough breaks? Will this limit their recruiting of crew given other cruise lines’ policies are more liberal? I’m not of the “us vs them” mindset when it comes to interacting with crew. I always find them helpful, cheerful and polite. So, I’m having a hard time understanding this change. Why do something to irritate your most precious commodity? Frankly, it just seems mean spirited compared to any small financial gain it may net them.

Have done the Bahamas, Caribbean and the Mexico twins (Cancun and Cozumel) many, many times. So, if there were a time I wouldn’t get off the ship, it would be for those ports. That said, if you’re a newbie and have never been to those ports, it might be worthwhile to get off and check them out. There are always bus tours if you are limited. New England, Alaska, Mediterranean? Definitely get off the ship at any ports they stop at because they’re so rich in things to see and do, as well as the spectacular scenery. As far as times to embark after an excursion, DO NOT ignore the “all aboard” times posted. That’s a mistake many have made and nearly always regretted. Some of us make sport of the “pier runners”….watching those run to catch a ship sailing away because they were unwilling or unable to make the ship’s posted all aboard time.

It's been a while since I was in the YC (5 years) but I don't think it's changed. What to expect? Much more than what you would expect for a Balcony Cabin. As soon as you hit the port, there will be a YC tent where you'll drop off your luggage to a Butler who will escort you to the YC check in area where you'll have drinks and snacks. Once checked in, you'll be escorted onto the ship by a Butler. You'll have access to the Top Sail Lounge, which is exclusive to guests in the YC. There, you'll find Butlers to serve you drinks, and they have lite snacks throughout the day. There are comfortable couches and large windows over looking the water. YC has it's own private restaurant with menus that change daily. There's also a concierge who will help with Excursion bookings, internet issues, billing issues, etc. IIRC, there was also a separate concierge who helps with Specialty Dining bookings. I'm sure there's more. But, that's off the top of my head.

I always take the perks. So, for me, it's $20 service charge/day. The last year to year and a half, I've found NCL's fares with "FREE AT SEA" to be very good. I think I came in at under $600 for a 7-day Breakaway cruise last month with FAS....Cheapest I've ever had. Priced out the repo cruise on the Breakaway that just returned. With FAS, it was a heckuva deal ($1,400 for a 2 week cruise in a Balcony as a solo). Recent Fares have been great. Perks (like drinks with FAS, Specialty dinners, internet minutes, etc) included work great for me. Their drink menu with FAS is way more comprehensive than I would ever need. But, I don't drink Capt Morgan (I think they have Gosling Rum? Used that in my Dark and Stormy). They have my favorite Bourbon on board (Buffalo Trace, which I can't even get at home) included. When I drink Gin, it's Tangurey, which they also include. Beer selection is pretty broad. So, I can find whatever I want. The "foo-foo" drinks and shots are not something I would miss if they did away with them. I understand those who can't find something they want from the drink menu. I have no problem finding what I want, though. I haven't priced out any NCL sailings since I returned. So, maybe fares with FAS have risen. Don't know.

Did it before. Will do it, again. Silly, but given the number of passengers who think the muster drill doesn't pertain to them and are incensed at the thought they have to participate, I don't see this going well. Some people just remain clueless about how their cruise behavior negatively affects others on board. Based on the number of people whose name was announced on my last few cruises who didn't check in at their muster station, as easy as that is, I would not want to be a Capt trying to collectively gather cruisers en masse to their stations Curious, did some requirement change regarding the muster drill procedure? I understand the COVID part of the equation, but haven't heard of anything changing that would require everyone to gather for the muster drill. Last Spring I did a Royal Cruise. I liked how they did it. if you hadn't watched the safety video in your cabin and showed up at the muster station to get your key card scanned, your key card was blocked from buying drinks. Seemed to work, great.

Sorry about that. It was listed on a 2022 site. This is from NCL’s site. Thanks. Sorry about the other one. It was listed on a 3rd party site that had allegedly had 2022 drink lists.

Just did a quick search and turned up this menu on their $20/day service charge drink menus. I guess from the newly launched Prima…..

What? Drink package is $20/day or thereabouts? I think individually there may be a liquor here or there that has an up charge. I don’t dip into those extra charge drinks as they don’t mean much to me. But overall, it’s a pretty good deal. On any given day, I’ll have 2-3 beers, a shot or two of bourbon, an after dinner drink, maybe a “drink o’the day”. My estimation? No way can I find that mix of drinks for $20….even at a dive bar on land. Just returned from the Breakaway 4 weeks ago. Never had any of my requests denied for mixed drinks. Now, I don’t order fancy brandies or tequilas. But, I drank Stella Artois, I believe they had Bulliet bourbon, which is a good bourbon that I liked (I’m sure they had others, but I stuck to Bulliet). Had mixed drinks like my fave “dark and stormy”, “painkiller”, “Long Island” (which is probably among the strongest made that I’ve ever had), Margarita, Sidecar, Mojito (Bacardi?) and probably 3-4 others I don’t remember. Are they cutting back? Not sure. I do know that Bailey’s was an up charge, but again, that’s not my drink. Only “included” drink package that was better for me was on the Celebrity Cruises I took last year. But, their fares are generally higher.

I love this topic. It's such a great time. 😉

My 10% off is still in my account info. Still only for the 4/16 sailing. Still not a “deal” that’s good enough for me to jump on. But, it’s there. You have to do a faux booking and go through the payment page where you’ll see this…. Your 10% Off Coupon – Latitudes Cruise, Norwegian Escape, April 16th 2023 #XXXXXX Valid from: 11/15/22 – 4/14/23 This coupon is considered a credit. In order to secure your booking, please ensure an additional form of payment is selected. This coupon does not cover taxes and fees associated with the booking.

Thanks! I looked and looked and didn’t see any Ts and Cs aligned with the “FREE BALCONY UPGRADE”. No asterisks…no nothing. And, when I clicked on the promo’s link, it didn’t go to anything remotely related to the promo. MSC has since taken the promo away. I’d take a nice OBC in lieu of the balcony upgrade. Lowest price rarely correlates to value. I’m like you. Value trumps lowest price every time.

Excellent points. I’ve cruise a lot…on just about every mainstream line (haven’t sailed Princess, yet). I’ve been in a teeny-tiny solo cabin on NCL to Havens with NCL (also have ONLY sailed in YC cabins on Meriviglia and Divina). Sailed everything in between. I’ve sailed with my (former) GF and have sailed solo a lot. My Alaska cruises, my Mediterranean cruises, and my most recent East Coast cruise, I used my Balconies a lot. Bahamas/Mexico, which is this cruise’s itinerary, I’ve been to a lot. Balconies are not a big deal. Since I’ve cruised a lot, I’ve had my fair share of working in the narrow silos the cruise lines force us into. All the while having to give the cruise lines’ our money with their iron clad “we keep your money, no matter why you have to cancel”. So yeah, I plan on holding the cruise lines to their word with their marketing and ads.