Jump to content

pcakes122

Members
  • Posts

    1,577
  • Joined

Everything posted by pcakes122

  1. I think Starbucks is the worst coffee ever! I firmly believe the reason the chain is so popular is that what they are really selling is hot and cold coffee-flavored milkshakes. I've yet to hear about anyone who drinks and enjoys Starbucks coffee black. Also, fair warning to any true coffee lovers that NCL also uses Starbucks coffee in the Haven, although they make it in a French press. It is horrendous. I travel with my own coffee (Illy) and just have the butler bring the French press and a carafe of boiling water. For those folks teasing us crazy coffee people, yes we are that serious about our coffee! ☕ I drink coffee throughout the day and it just wouldn't be vacation with terrible coffee, so you've got to do what you've got to do. 🤷🏻‍♀️
  2. Whatever company processes the upgrades is an agent of NCL and should be considered NCL. For example, I work for a very large company and it's likely many people here are customers of that company. We utilize outside vendors to do some customer service call center work. If somebody at one of those call centers made a mistake on your account, you would not say "Oh, don't worry big company, we realize it wasn't you, it was your vendor." You would hold US responsible, and you should.
  3. On the Summit now (in The Retreat but that should not make a difference.) I actually brought a universal remote to change the source so that I could use Smart View to cast from my Samsung tablet. This USED to work, but this time it would not. However my fantastic room steward showed me how to get there on the Celebrity cabin remote and then made me swear we never had the conversation. 😂 CC > Menu > Support > Source Smart View working like a dream. 👍🏻
  4. They are primarily team-based incentives (which encourages people to work together.) Many, many companies do this successfully. I even remember McDonald's doing this when I worked there as a teenager lol (e.g., if food quality and presentation remained at a specified grade level during the busy Saturday lunch hour, every crew member working in the grill area that hour received $25.) NCL crew members not only stay for contract after contract after contract after contract with NCL, they encourage their family and friends at home to apply also! So I don't think they are really as oppressed, unhappy, depressed and destitute as some people seem to think. (Full disclosure: I have family members who worked on NCL ships for many, many years. Albeit in officer/staff positions, they had and still have many friends onboard!)
  5. As long as you understand that what you are hearing is what others SAY they tip. My take is that the DSC is not supposed to be a tip, but it IS intended to eliminate an unfair/unbalanced tipping culture and practices. Before the DSC, anyone in the "back of the house" had no opportunity to earn anything above their base salary, and those in direct customer contact were reliant on the kindness (and uneven tipping practices) of guests to augment low wages. NCL cruise base salaries DID increase with the advent of the DSC. The DSC helps fund crew incentive programs, just like NCL says - programs that benefit MOST crew. That doesn't stop anybody from giving cash tips anytime or anywhere to any one as an expression of appreciation. However, nobody NEEDS to do it because "NCL employees are poorly paid and they don't get the DSC directly in their paycheck and therefore we must compensate blah blah blah." I've seen that stated before and that's not only inaccurate, it's ridiculous and insulting. (NCL crew are not ignorant indentured servants who have been blindly forced into work camps at sea and need us to save them from themselves and their poor job decisions. Thinking that way shows an unconscious bias that really needs addressing. Just because somebody doesn't speak English doesn't mean they're stupid. Everybody working on the ship signed a contract and knew AND agreed to their salary before they ever stepped on board.) It has been said many times before, but filling out comment cards REALLY helps crew members. Getting positive comment cards helps crew members earn recognition, get better job opportunities, get free specialty dining, Wi-Fi, time off and other nice perks. 😊
  6. Luckily I had blood work that was only 10 days old so I didn't have to spend the money for a lot of those tests. Hope your insurance kicks in soon! Good on your mom for continuing to travel despite her age and medical conditions! I have a lot going on medically as well, but I don't let it stop me either. 😊 (That's why I always see a doctor, get blood work and get a check up before every trip.) Even so, I've now had Covid on ships three times. 🤦‍♀️ It is what it is.
  7. Happy to hear your Mom recovered quickly! I was also on the Getaway for my Covid experience! I was not discouraged to come in on the phone, but I will say that I did not accept all the testing that was suggested (e.g., they had an EKG, heart enzyme test and lots of other crazy tests (kidney function?) on the estimate ("Why do I need that?" "To rule out a heart attack." "But I'm not having heart attack symptoms." "But you said you had chest pain." "What you asked was if it hurt when I cough and I said I was sore - I don't have any pain." "Ok, then fine.") And I was not charged for the actual Paxlovid pills, but I was charged for administering the pills lol. Reading your story, I hesitate to think of what my bill would have been if I had just accepted everything on the proposed treatment plan. Luckily, I only had one day of treatment and disembarked in the morning. I was actually shocked that my personal health insurance reimbursed me within a week via direct deposit. The extra $50 from the travel insurance took about a month.
  8. Only problem is I didn't know that at the time. I was feeling pretty sick and was really short of breath (received nebulizer treatments in Medical) which is kind of scary. Two days at home and I was kicking myself for giving up a Haven casino comp (they are not giving those out as easily as they used to!)
  9. Yes, I received Paxlovid and it really helped. It was the last day of the first leg of a back-to-back cruise and I nixed the second leg and went home. I tested negative on the third day. You should do some more research on Paxlovid. The only screening even the manufacturer recommends is to determine what other medications the patient is taking. There's no medical (or maritime lol) requirement or recommendation for any kind of pre-testing for Paxlovid use. Without proper education, it seems you might easily get taken for $6,000 should you wind up needing Paxlovid on a cruise (or some other medical treatment.) Everyone should be well informed and be diligent about being their own advocate - medically and financially!
  10. You didn't fully read my post. I got the tests AND the meds 😊. All under $1K. Also when you go to the Medical Center, they evaluate you to determine what tests they want/need to do and they provide you with a WRITTEN estimate in hand before you make a decision to proceed with treatment. And then you can even choose what you want or don't want. They don't tell you over the phone that it's going to be xx dollars and discourage you to come in. (Unfortunately, I have too much experience going to the Medical Center on ships.) I've recently got Paxlovid from my primary care doctor with just a phone call the last time I had Covid. She didn't even suggest running any tests (at that point I hadn't had blood work in 5 months, hadn't had an EKG in probably four years and had not seen her in person since before the pandemic.) I don't know where you live that requires such thorough testing before administering Paxlovid, but I'm in New Jersey and even pharmacists can prescribe it here (obviously without any prior testing.) The $6K estimate for a Covid exam and meds was completely out of whack and unreasonable.
  11. Only they were not honest facts. Just experienced Covid in October on the Joy. Had all the tests in Medical and received meds and multiple nebulizer breathing treatments for the shortness of breath. Total bill was $989 (My private health insurance paid everything but $50 and my travel insurance paid the remaining $50.) There is no maritime law requiring $6,000 worth of testing for Covid symptoms. It's not only NOT honest, it's the worst kind of dishonest. What kind of medical professional discourages someone from seeking medical treatment? (It's this kind of thing that makes me wonder if some of the doctors and nurses get jobs on cruise ships because they were unsuccessful or unemployable on land.)
  12. This is not exactly true. A better way to state this is that ensuite dining is only available if you are in a cabin category with butler service. That could be the Haven on any ship or a non-Haven suite on a Jewel-class ship or on Prima/Viva.
  13. Slightly off topic, but while we're on the subject of certificates.... the new CAS Next certificate terms specifically state that you can't combine them with Cruise Next certificates. Not true. On my recent cruise I bought CNs and also received a CAS Next certificate. When I got home I was able to place one of each on the same existing booking at ncl.com. (Something tells me if I called to have that done I would have been told I couldn't do it 😉.)
  14. "Pre-loved" luxury handbag and jewelry shops are all the rage and have been for the past several years. Anyone who normally carries luxury handbags would find the fact that these are available on cruises a huge plus (while I am a "luxury handbag person" the reason I don't buy pre-loved is because there are extreme "superfakes" out there and even some of the top pre-loved retailers have been duped into selling replicas.) That said, I just saw a beautiful Hermes Birkin on my recent NCL Prima cruise and I WAS a tiny bit tempted since they are very hard to come by. I would love if LV or Hermes would authorize authentic boutiques on cruise ships - just for the tax savings alone. I know Royal had Cartier and Bulgari boutiques on the Anthem a while back, not sure if they still do.
  15. Hopefully, even though it didn't matter to you, my post was helpful to others. Believe it or not, many people do not know that they do not have to accept the "free" drink package and pay the associated gratuities. I never accept it. First, I don't really drink that much and second, I get a free drink card from the casino (which is the only place I really drink anyway.) I simply decline the package when booking. Perhaps this will help others that were not aware this is an option.
  16. Woah, sorry. I honestly thought you didn't know that you didn't need to pay those gratuities. Fine, pay them. Lol
  17. Just FYI you do not have to accept the free drink package and pay those gratuities if you're not going to drink that much. If what you will actually drink would be cheaper to pay by the drink, just decline the free package.
  18. I thought the rule was that you could not have cruised on a Celebrity Blue Chip comp in the last year, not that you couldn't have sailed Celebrity at all. If your previous cruise was not a casino comp, you should be fine.
  19. I don't know how I can share evidence of this, but I can tell you that this has worked for me twice! That's why I'm really appreciative when people post here when they start seeing the Amex offers. Once I see that offers are appearing for others I go to my account and start adding offers to clear space for new offers to appear. Both times that I have done this the NCL offer eventually came up! First time it showed up fairly soon.The second time I had to add offers for like a half hour (but I didn't give up because I knew it had worked once before LOL) and sure enough it eventually showed up! I will say this has only worked on my Platinum card.
  20. You are absolutely right. Haven French press was delicious when they used Illy brand coffee. They are now using a Starbucks blend and it is just terrible! You can make it a little better by telling your butler to use one less scoop of coffee which will make it tolerable, but it won't make it good. I've resorted to bringing my own Illy coffee and I just ask for an empty French press and a carafe of boiling water. Starbucks=🤮
  21. Great review! I was also on this sailing and I loved the Prima. This was my first time on Prima and it is now by far my favorite NCL ship. And that's saying a lot because I have cruised exclusively in the Haven/suites for years and this week I was in a balcony (last minute casino offer and the ONE accessible cabin in the Haven was booked - no ADA suites on this ship.) My balcony cabin on Prima was actually nicer than the Haven cabin I had on the Getaway in February - and the crew on Prima was amazing! None of the areas seemed crowded to me, and even the casino had rows of empty machines at all different hours of the day. (Loved that they had the updated card readers.) I never ran into a crowded elevator. I was on Deck 14 and most times the elevators were EMPTY - great for me because I have a mobility scooter. I agree that it felt like a non-smoking ship! The only "complaints (lol)" I had all week were that they were sold out of Prima ship models and the gift shop did not carry any Tom Ford perfumes (other NCL ships do but I found out that the Prima gift shop concessionaire is a different company then other NCL ships.) They were also selling (pre-owned) Hermes bags (they had a Birkin), Louis Vuitton bags and wallets and other designer goods. (I was surprised they didnt have a Cartier boutique like Royal and Celebrity.) The food sounds amazing and there's a million places to eat. Don't have anything more to add there because I don't eat much so I didn't try any of the food venues. I am very boring eater (e.g., when in the Haven I eat pasta with butter and grated cheese for dinner every night like a toddler lol) Overall, I thought the ship was beautiful, the finishes seemed higher quality than other NCL ships and the design/layout felt like a resort hotel. My only true complaint is that there is only one accessible cabin in the Haven and no accessible suites. 😭
  22. Not to hijack this thread but I felt this ☝️ so I had to share! I *hate* the AOL interface with the million advertisements! What I did was open a new Google email account (Gmail) and then just added my verizon.net email account to my Gmail app (I can still send email FROM my verizon.net address through the Gmail app.) I have not been to that horrible AOL page in years.
  23. This is not true. During one birthday cruise, I was speaking with the casino host (Clarissa) on the first sea day and mentioned I had a spa appointment later that day. She knew I had a couple of friends on that cruise (not traveling with me - in their own cabins) and she proactively offered to make it a spa day for all of us. She told me to pick up everyone's tab and that she would cover it. Another time another host and I were discussing Ocean Blue (at that time I had never been there - it used to be an upcharge.) She proactively offered mid-cruise to make me a reservation and pick up the tab. So I would say everything depends upon your relationship with the hosts ( And certainly your level of play!) I've had several more experiences where I was offered amenities or comps mid-cruise.
  24. I second this. My sister and BIL both worked/lived on NCL ships for many years (although they held officer/staff positions, they know ALOT of crew!) People tend to have some misunderstanding around whether or not the crew can get off the ship or whether or not they have access to purchase toiletries, necessities, candy, etc. Yes, they can get off the ship! Only during Covid were there severe restrictions around that. Also, they have a crew store that has toiletries, snacks, tons of chocolate (lol) and a lot more at GREATLY discounted prices. Also (don't be shocked!) there is an address where they can receive as many packages as they want, so they can order from Amazon, Sephora, Target or any store their heart desires! The only catch here is that this works well/best when they are based out of a U.S. port. The crew is not in jail. We don't need to bring them toothpaste and socks. 😁
×
×
  • Create New...