wwb

TrumpyNor:

I was not aware of that! Thanks for sharing that info. I now understand  a bit better.😊

Our conversation was good at the table. I certainly didn’t expect to get the Captain every time, or ever again. My husband really enjoyed his conversation with the Shopping manager.

I was simply sharing the comparison between my 2 experiences. Never realized that when you share, your opinion gets challenged and minimalized. I know now not to review any of MY feelings or opinions on these boards without backlash.🤐

wwb

Arzeena: as I said, this was MY experience and MY opinion about this. How fortunate you are that you have never been disappointed.

Happy cruising!

Such inconsistency. They need to work on this, or as Vince said, give an extra specialty dinner instead.

NCL: are you listening?

We just returned from our week on the Escape. There were some great things about our cruise and some not great things, nevertheless, had a wonderful time.

The biggest disappointment for me was this perk that you are entitled to as a Platinum Plus member. The first time we were able to do this Dining with the Officers perk was April 2018 on the Gem. There were 5 passengers at the table, the captain and the Cruise Next manager. Place cards were awaiting us at the table. It was a wonderful evening! They even took our photos and had them on our bed later that night complimentary. Additionally, the captain invited us up to the bridge the following day for a coffee. We definitely felt special and that this was truly a perk for our loyalty to NCL.

In stark contrast, was our experience last week on the Escape. We were told to meet at the Guest Services area at 5:30 and then would be taken to the dining room together. We stood there with a few others feeling a bit foolish (waiting about 25 minutes with no direction), as someone named Shanty held a paper with our photos and tried to get organized.

Finally she gave us a group number ( Why we needed that was crazy with so few people) and marched us to the dining room. She said # 1's this side and # 2's the other side, and then reversed it when she sent us in with the host. We were taken to a long table for ten and there were 5 passengers (husband, me and our grown son, and a couple who was on their third cruise) and there were 2 officers (Manager of the shopping and a nurse). No one else filled the other spots which happened to be in the middle of our table. Shanty said she wasn't sure if anyone else would come. The other Platinum Plus passengers (I think there were 4 or 5) were on the totally opposite side of the dining room with an unknown assortment of officers.

The only "extra" we got was wine with dinner. We did not get the photos, the offer of cappuccinos and after dinner drinks like we had less than a year ago on the Gem.

I think NCL must be reminded that this perk is for devotees of NCL with about 20 or so cruises. I felt disrespected having to wait so long in the Atrium and being assigned numbers.

I think the person in charge of this perk on Escape needs to be helped a bit to treat guests less like children at school and more like the repeat cruisers they are.

Just my opinion and my comparison of the 2 experiences.

Wendy wwb

We just got off the Summit on 6/12.

We were shocked and very impressed to see her helping to serve guests pastries in Café al Bacio.

Bet she is the first Captain to do so, but I am not sure.

wwb

Lobster was served the first night on the Gem (6/28 - 7/5).

Everyone was quite happy!

wwb

Just got off the Gem and we had the Ultimate Dining Plan (UDP). The ship was filled to capacity with over 3000+ people. I was thrilled not to have to compete for the regular dining rooms.

One thing we did take advantage of was...dinner in Teppanyaki and dessert in La Cucina. I am not a fan of hibachi meals, but did it because my son loves it. I was thrilled to be able to eat delicious Italian desserts instead. There was no extra charge and they just rang it through the UDP. You could also do this with any restaurant if you choose.

Just an idea to ponder...

Wendy

Reluctantly..... I just came home from a week on the Gem in Aft PH suite 8632. I had my 19 year old son with me and we enjoyed every moment! I had called the pre-concierge and arranged pillows, etc. They asked if I wanted to have hot chocolate instead of coffee for my son. They provided a good supply (and replenished it as the week went on) and my son was quite happy. I even mixed some cocoa in my coffee to make a mocha one day.

One surprise that I hadn't expected was the fact that the bed in the PH is a king and can not be separated. I had requested that 2 twins be made up and was not told about the bedding situation. The steward made up the sofa for my son, but it really was too short for him because he is just under 6 feet. He could have slept in the bed with me, but preferred to give me my own space. Just be aware of this fact since you are taking your family along.

I am sure you will relish each and every second in your suite...it is a nice treat!

Wendy wwb

We are also on the Norwegian Star for the Copenhagen to Miami transatlantic in October. My TA proposed a $1400 RT flight and waste the other way. I found a $435 one way on Icelandair. I was not familiar with Norwegian Air, so thank you to everyone who brought that to the forum.

wwb

When we got to the terminal, our one bag was missing. We waited until all of the other luggage had been claimed in our color group (except one bag which looked similar to ours). Luckily, a cell phone number was on the tag and we contacted the family. They had taken our bag by mistake! They turned around and came back to the terminal and we swapped bags. Since then, we always make sure our information is completed on the tags, including our cell phone number (although it was clearly labeled then too, so go figure!).

wwb

Our visit to Ephesus had all of the places mentioned (except Mary's house which we did not wish to do) and also included a short visit to the town of Sirince. We had lunch (very non-touristy place up a hill in the village) and shopped the small stands which sold oils, pottery, liquors, etc. One funny story that added to our day was that while we were eating lunch, we heard music and singing. We realized that it was the local mosque we were hearing (our first exposure to a Muslim culture). We also visited a rug place near Temple of Artemis, a leather place and a pottery place. We were not forced into these visits, we told him that we would enjoy "peeking," as long as we could leave soon as we wanted to.

We also had our private guide take us to a local grocery store near the Izmir port where we purchased delicious baklava.

It was a perfect day and we enjoyed the variety of it all.

Wendy

I have a tour booked with them in a couple of weeks. Was it a good tour? Why were you late and did they know you would make the tender?

Thanks,

Wendy

This is the "twisted and erroneous" response that Beulah Mills posted to our negative review of her on Tripadvisor. It further clarifies that she will NOT personally do your tour (except the lunch time tour), and will NOT take any responsibility for errors from her drivers or her company. If you look at her reviews, all negative comments she basically says that those people are liars. BTW: Our driver encouraged us to go to a small restaurant, not Palm Court Gardens for lunch and was indeed 40 minutes late (not the 15 described by Beulah)AND Beulah was the one screaming at the driver for many minutes after we walked away from the situation, not us! She also did NOT try to resolve he situation.

Her Response:

Funinthesun026, Owner at Welcome Tours St. Kitts and Nevis, responded to this review

2 days ago

When a customer complain then it's my job as the Owner and Manager of Welcome Tours to respond and make things right.

You who are reading this know that every story has 2 sides and that is certainly true here.

It is true that I do not do all the tours at Welcome Tours ...that would be impossible! ....Depending on on how busy we are, I lead or part lead some of the tours, organise and manage others, and my team of hand picked, highly trained experienced drivers/ tour guides does the rest....doing an excellent job,and perform better than I, on the longer tour as they do them more frequently. However, in life,thankfully infrequently glitches do occur.

Now, this couple booked a private Full island tour for 2 with lunch atPalms Court gardens I never indicated to them that I would personally tour them as it wasn't possible for me to do this, however on arrival I sensed their expectation and offered to do a part of their tour so they could experience me ..this I did and left them happy, my driver completed their tour and they were happy with this and were now to go to Palms Court Gardens,however they changed their itinerary from Palms Court and had it elsewhere which the driver willingly organised for them, it would then appear (as I wasn't there) that he came back an hour and 15 minutes later ..leaving 1hour for lunch, which is standard practise ,puts him 15 minutes late, ...which is inexcusable unless he experienced some mechanical problem,...............so reason to be unhappy ?..yes accepted! I understood their annoyance on one hand, and we would have made amends....given the opportunity, but they had convinced themselves that Earnest had run off with their camera and stuff and became very anxious...and so it was them who screamed and ranted at this, in a very loud and over the top way which they failed to mention in their Trip Advisor /Cruise Critic post. Their stuff was always safe with us..as we are not a 'fly by night company! ' I tried to come to a reasonable solution but they seemed determined to stay angry.

As a business woman when my phone rings I always answer it ..it is business! So the accusation that I answered their call and cut them off, when I didn't even know what had transpired.... is just not true. At the time we both forgot about the $20 entrance fee for Palms Court Garden. I am happy to return it to them if they supply their address or I can donate it to the Palms Court Children's Education charity fund.

Welcome Tours really do try to make its its customers exceedingly happy, and we are successful in doing so the vast majority of the time ...which makes us very happy ...And these odd occasions makes us sad too, so rest assured that we will continue to strive to give you the excellent service you deserve and look forward to your continued support and to serving you well!!

Always happy to be of service!

Beulah

Owner and manager of Welcome Tours St Kitts and Nevis.

So, you must read both good and bad posts before you book with her. Keep in mind that many of the very positive posts are from people who joined her $10 lunch time tour!

Ask if you have any questions. We DO have witnesses to verify our account of the story.

wwb

There are many other positive reports about the company and that is why I booked. I never dreamed that we would have the experience we did and maybe she will not use Ernest again. Don't know!

wwb

Had a private full day tour this past week with Beulah Mills company. Please know that you will most likely be passed off to someone else for the majority of your tour. We had no idea that she doesn't personally do her own tours. Our driver, Ernest, gave us a decent tour. However, he stranded us at a restaurant for an extra 45 minutes, which caused us not to have time to go to Palm Court Gardens (which we had paid for), or confidence in him either to get us back to the ship. Furthermore, he attempted to cover himself with all types of lies. The most unnerving thing was he had all of our things in the van, including camera, prescription sunglasses, bathing suits. If we had not left them in the van, we would have walked back to the port area on our own. Beulah did not answer her calls and stated that she did not receive any calls. As soon as we were returned to discuss this situation with her, my husband redialed her # and magically her phone was working.

In the hundreds of shore excursions I have previously booked, I have NEVER felt so worried and disrespected as this one.

For the people booking the trip to Nevis, please check out some of the comments on tripadvisor about this tour. There are some good and also some bad comments so that you can know what to expect.

Please ask if you have any other questions. I would not feel confident in recommending her tours and it really ruined our day in St. Kitts because of all of the anxiety caused by being stranded.

wwb

I have been on 2 Mariner shoreside events on my 2 Transatlantic cruises. It is exactly true what was said...they are American Express Mariner programs. They unfortunately chose the same "Mariner" wording which makes it quite confusing. You will have a pair of hosts who will take care of pampering you. You will also be invited to several cocktail parties (depending on the length of the cruise) and get a couple little gifts. Last time we got leather passport holders which were really beautiful.

The tours (AKA: shoreside events) which they pick are really well done. Our recent one was in Iceland and was done by a private company unrelated to shore excursions from the ship. WE explored many areas, including the Blue Lagoon, and I have to say that they think of everything...there was a woman who was totally wheelchair bound and they found a tour company which would more easily accommodate her needs.

You will definitely enjoy this unexpected perk of picking a "Mariner" cruise sponsored by AMEX. If you do a little research, you can find out in advance where your event will happen and what it includes. I did...it made planning my days easier.

Wendy

Just to get an idea...what does he charge per person for 2 people for his private tour?

Thank you,

Wendy

I was able to contact Ann from enpatagonia tours and she is definitely still giving tours from the port of Puerto Chacabuco. I have confirmed 2 spots for February 15, 2014 arriving on the Zaandam. She will only take a full van of 14 people out, so if anyone of my sailing is interested you can give a holler on the roll call or contact her.

Wendy wwb

I have also contacted them 2 times with no answer. There is an American phone number listed on her website that I was going to try next.

wwb

We also had dinner at the Komarda restaurant thanks to the recommendation of Carol. We went ahead and tried the homemade wine which was very delicious and different. We were a family of 4 and tried all different dishes and shared them. It was a dining adventure. After you leave the restaurant, near the taxi stand, is a small grocery store. We bought some delicious fig-orange jam as a gift for a friend, and also bought bottles of soda for our room fridge. It is quite interesting to discover the differences between our American products and products in other country's grocery stores. Check it out!

FYI When you are in the vicinity of this area, you are also near the Cable Car.

wwb

We just returned from a 14 day on Norweegian Jade which had a 7 hour stop (11 to 6) in Split. We hired Maja Benzon (maja.benzon@gmail.com) after we read her recommendation on Rick Steves tv show (she was his guide). She met us at the "city model" right outside of the port area. We went by van to the beautiful city of Trogir and loved it here. After that, we drove back to Split where we had lunch, and then toured Split and the Diocletian Palace. It was a perfecr day and I would recommend her HIGHLY.

wwb

HELP!!!!

I am turning 50 next Sunday (June 19) and am arriving by cruise for the day. I started looking for a guide back in October (used Rick Steves guide) and confirmed with him on October 25. I began trying to reconfirm our rez. on May 24, finally today he responded and he said, "so sorry, lost our messages and booked someone else."

I am so at a loss for what to do and how to get another guide. He was planning on taking us to spots on the wall, Cavtat, and Konavle.

I know I can do it without a guide, but I wanted to just have a perfect day without thinking too much (you know that 50 year brain).

All help appreciated. (Carol-I put my email on your web)

Thank you,

Wendy