bkrickles1

Wow! You like to leave out words to fit your narrative. I said they are "deceptively planning". They haven't actually stolen anything yet. The OP's initial post has been accurately described by many here to be a plan to cheat the system and he/she is looking to see if there is the potential for them to get in trouble. The OP knows it's wrong and is selfishly only interested in if they will face consequences. And, on the variety of cruises I've gone on, the bartenders are typically pretty busy and can't really keep an eye on everyone. But, I guess what you're saying is, that it's ok to put the bartenders in a situation where they have to confront passengers who don't give a "bleep" about the rules or how it affects their fellow passengers.

You really like to beat a dead horse, even when you've been proven wrong time and time again. But kudos to your persistence. I hope you fight this hard for your criminal clients. Below is a key sentence from the OP: "If the three of us are sitting together at any bar will the ones with FAS be able to order a second drink to hand it over to that third guest?" They aren't asking the bartender to give one of their drinks to the "cabin buddy" from their package. They aren't even planning to ask the bartender if it's ok to give one of their drinks to someone who isn't eligible. They are "deceptively" planning to order an extra drink and then hand it to their friend who has no package covering those drinks. It's specific and purposeful deception and it's stealing in my book. Inevitably, this scamming of the system will cost those who "mostly" follow the rules.

There is, of course, some truth to what you've read, as UK stated. The cutbacks are real and do affect everyone. We haven't cruised nearly as often as some on here, but we have cruised fairly consistently over the years so we have a fair idea how some of the changes have impacted cruising. We've sailed twice with NCL since June, 2022 and have another coming up in 65 days. Our last sailing was on Joy this past July and I was aware of some of the cutbacks beforehand, so I paid attention while onboard. I have to say that my overall experience was not impacted. We had a wonderful time! The service was as good as usual. Food was essentially the same, in spite of some changes. Some was good, some was not so good. Always plenty to choose and nobody in my group of 13 went hungry. And there were no shortages of anything we wanted as there were the previous year right after the pandemic. I believe most of those issues have been resolved already. Anyway, I wouldn't be scared off by any comments here. We love cruising and are doing it again in April.

Lmao 😂 Top 5 funniest post ever!

You're not alone!

I have read all of your posts and I have pretty good reading comprehension, so I didn't have to try very hard to understand that you're looking for a way for your cabin buddy to cheat the system and steal some drinks. Any other description of it, is just semantics!!

Lmao 🤣 Your analogy is weak and as someone who stayed at a Holiday Inn Express last night, I'm going to say you're wrong!

After drinking entirely too much this past weekend and paying for every one of my drinks, I have read through this thread because I needed some amusement in my day. And after reading through it, I don't recall seeing anyone calling you or anyone else from Spain a criminal, so your snide comments are totally uncalled for. With that in mind and to give you some real world experience, I have seen people get drinks for others that didn't have the package on NCL and I've done it myself many years ago on RCCL. I can tell you, with some certainty, that it's extremely unlikely that you would get caught and be in trouble. There's just too much going on for anyone to notice. But, YOU WOULD BE STEALING!!!!!!!!!! Anyone who says otherwise is wrong! I don't judge and I would never turn anyone in for this, but it's stealing and that would make you a thief! No wordplay or context or anything else changes it. If you're ok with it, then go for it and enjoy your cruise.

Actually, the difference logistically is having to get off the ferry at Jost Van Dyke and then getting on an open air taxi and driving to the beach. A 5 - 10 minute ride. And then having to do that going back to the ship 🛳. Not a big deal, but not as seamless as the NCL excursion. The beach is worth it so I would happily take the ferry if it was my only choice.

For me, this is what makes the excursion through the cruiseline the way to go. The 3rd party excursion requires you to get to the ferry, which takes you over to Jost Van Dyke and then there's a short open aired taxi ride to White Bay Beach. I'm sure it's fine and a good alternative to NCL's excursion when it's sold out, but it's more steps than I want to take going back and forth. When we did Escape to Jost Van Dyke in 2020, we walked off the ship (Encore), walked to the end of the pier, and the Rebel Yell catamaran was right there waiting for us. You easily step onto the Rebel Yell with their friendly crew and captain and after a short safety/expectations talk, we took off for White Bay. I remember it taking approximately 45 minutes, but my memory is not what it used to be. Lmao! It's a beautiful ride on a really nice catamaran and it takes you right up to the beach at White Bay. You step down into a couple of feet of beautiful water and walk right up onto the beach. After 3+ hours at White Bay, you do the whole thing again going back with a little rum punch! Easy Peasy!! I think I mentioned this already but last time we took the early time and this time we chose the 2nd time slot. The benefit of going in the early time slot is that virtually all of the loungers will be available in front of all the different establishments. With the 2nd slot it might be a little harder, but I'm counting on it not being too bad. My daughter went back there this past May and she texted me from the Soggy Dollar and I was able to see her and my nephew on the live web cam that they have. Kind of cool for an old dad missing his daughter. Lol!!

Zero cost but if you park yourselves in front of an establishment, like Hendos or Soggy Dollar, they expect you to do some of your drinking or eating with them. If you drink or eat, that is. It was one of our favorite excursions ever! Have fun and let us know how your trip was.

I enjoyed getting the discount this past July for my Joy sailing. The package was waiting for me in my stateroom with an invite to a gathering. I missed the gathering, unfortunately, due to me being a space cadet. Lmao!! But I do get a chance to make up for it in April on Getaway, so I'm excited for that. This time my daughter will be there to remind me. Anyway, once you're registered for the military discount, it sticks, as I didn't need to do anything for my current booking. 72 Days!

I also request a mattress topper. Received one for each of my last 2 sailings on Joy and will ask again in April on Getaway. On my last sailing and on the one coming up, I put in the request with my PCC and I'll include it with the note I leave for or hand to my cabin steward upon embarkation. This note covers my request for the topper, extra towels, ice every day, empty fridge, etc. I include $30 with my note and have had great success having all of my requests filled in a timely fashion.

Everyone has different experiences and I'll tell you mine. We sailed Joy just this past July and originally booked an inside cabin. After receiving an upgrade email, I bid on a balcony and a club balcony. The minimum bid for a club balcony on my sailing was $125pp. We were ok with an inside cabin as this was going to be our 3rd vacation of the year and we've done inside cabins in the past and survived quite well. We sailed Joy the previous summer too and had a club balcony suite and really enjoyed the bathroom, so we weren't adverse to a potential move but it had to be inexpensive! Because of this, I bid $5 over the minimum and actually was awarded the club balcony cabin. I paid $130pp for my wife and I. $260 total and received notification 6 weeks before my sailing, which seemed early, but made us quite happy. Anyway, I'm sailing Getaway in April and once again we booked an inside cabin. I didn't receive the email, but went in and inputted my info and was able to bid for a balcony and club balcony. This time the minimum bids are $100pp for a balcony and $250pp for a club balcony. I bid $140pp for the balcony and the minimum for the club balcony. Again, we're ok with an inside cabin and the prices have actually gone up quite a lot since we booked. A balcony now would cost us approx. $2000 more than we paid originally, which seems like a lot, and a club balcony is even more. What's a little interesting is that if I go in for a mock booking now, as opposed to just a couple of days ago, there is only inside guarantee and club balcony guarantee available, but you can still pick a balcony and there's at least 150 of those still available. There was, at least, 60 club balconies available 2 days ago too. With over 200 cabins available that are possibilities for an upgrade, maybe I'll get lucky again!

April 19th

In the app click on Room Upgrades and then fill in your last name and reservation # or click link below https://upgrade.plusgrade.com/offer/NCL/

You'll love the trip, but it is different from NCL's excursion and a little more $$. We're sailing Getaway in April and booked Escape to Jost Van Dyke for the 2nd time. We were there in January, 2020 and it was so nice my wife insisted we do it again. BTW we took pics by Soggy Dollar, but we parked ourselves in front of Hendo's and got painkillers and food from there as their setup and lounge chairs were a little nicer.

In 2020, we sailed Encore and only had the option of 7am as we were departing at 1pm from Tortola. It was a great excursion on the Rebel Yell and that's why my wife insisted we do it again. This time with a little more sleep. At the time, Hendos had the newest and nicest lounge chairs and Rebel Yell dropped us on that side of the beach. Despite the time, I had many painkillers! I can only speak to the NCL excursion but it could not have been easier. Rebel Yell took off from the pier and returned us there very simply and conveniently. Crew was friendly and with NCL's shore excursion credit, it was reasonably priced.

Did you choose late or early time slot? We're late.

Hendos has loungers and umbrellas right in front of the bar and right next to the Soggy Dollar. It's right by the water and so beautiful!

Probably 3 hours and, as I said, we booked through the cruise line. It's called Escape to Jost Van Dyke and it's on a catamaran called the Rebel Yell.

We also did this excursion in 2020. January, 2020 with NCL. And we parked ourselves on the loungers in front of Hendos. We got our painkillers from their bar and we ordered a couple of things to eat. The bartender was fabulous and called for us when our food was ready. It was our best day of the cruise and we're going back in April with the plan being to park in front of Hendos again.

Lmao 😂! Cutting out the rest of my post makes me look a little sketchy.

I did the dress up thing for many years on cruises, as required back then. Have the pictures to prove it. Lmao 🤣 We, as a family, decided to make the switch to NCL to get away from the dressing up and the fixed dining, which was also starting to get on our nerves. Did a whole cruise back in 2020 without pants. Shorts, deck shoes and casual button down shirts. I started bringing jeans after that as I'm getting older and colder. Lol! Very happy with our decision.

A person after my own heart! I, too, start with bloody mary's in the morning, switch to beer in the afternoon and then G&T's in the evening sprinkled with beer. Lmao!! 15 drink limit is for light weights!! Lmao, just kidding. To each his own!!