DCGuy64

22 minutes ago, RocketMan275 said:

You're in a wonderful condition where you're flying from one major hub to another.

We, OTOH, find it difficult to book nonstop flights to anywhere but DFW or ATL>

Yes, we are fortunate to live close to 3 airports. My comment was in response to an earlier one you made in which you stated that NCL only gives people the flights nobody else wanted. That isn't true for us. 

We live in a safe neighborhood and our neighbors always know when we're out of town, plus we have a house sitter. I think some people are overly paranoid about mentioning when they're traveling, but that's just me.

On 5/31/2024 at 6:04 PM, RocketMan275 said:

You get the flights no one else wanted.

Not necessarily, ours was great, nonstop from DC to Miami, no problem at all. We'd do it again in a heartbeat.

On 5/29/2024 at 1:57 PM, TheycallmeFlip said:

Hi,

My brother-in-law is now wheelchair bound as he had a stroke a couple of years ago where he never fully recovered the strength on his right side.  When he was a teenager, he wanted to work on cruise ships as a cruise director.  (He was on a Disney ship and hung out with the crew)  Unfortunately soon after, he was diagnosed with a seizure disorder that restricted what he could do.

He's now 53 years old and I was thinking that if there was a way for him to do a cruise now I'd try and plan it.  I'm thinking of doing a cruise out of Boston as that would eliminate flying to an airport.

I know that I have seen many passengers on cruise ships in wheelchairs. But I don't know if the ships that have handicapped accessible cabins.  Does anyone know?  Any suggestions or recommendations would be helpful.

 

Thanks

Flip

First off, what a nice thing to for him! What a kind gesture, especially since he wanted to work on a cruise ship before-you're a good brother-in-law to do this. And yes, as others have said, they absolutely DO have accessible cabins. You'll see them on the NCL website when you go to choose a cabin.

2 hours ago, stellarose33 said:

I just want simple alcoholic drinks and I love using my reusable water bottle. hoping this will do with the "free" drinks package. 

Definitely. We always get FAS and have never gone thirsty, my wife is especially a big fan of reusable water bottles and you can refill them in many places.

42 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Reliable carrier? Who would that be??

Exactly. Last time I checked, flight delays at DCA near where I live affected all the airlines, large and small.

8 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

I would venture that a large portion of the population would have no idea what this means. When they book themselves, they pick the cheapest flight or a flight that arrives "on time" with zero regard to routing or connection times. All of the airlines and travel site user interfaces have been made so "friendly" you have to really dig to make a true "informed" decision. Which is why a lot of people rely on a travel agent to book for them,,, which is just as useless for ensuring that you have "good" flights. 

I agree with @BirdTravels. Last year, we flew from DC to Tokyo via Toronto for a cruise. Our connection time in Toronto was less than 2 hours (arrival 11:14, departure 1:05 pm). Well, over on the CC board for Oceania (the cruise line), there was panic that I would (and I'm not making this up) "deliberately" plan such a tight connection. Huh? Air Canada "planned" it, not me. We were flying 2 days before the cruise due to losing one day, since Tokyo is 13 hours ahead, so we arrived one day prior. Someone suggested that we leave THREE days prior, and when I pointed out that it would be much more costly due to the difference in airfares + budgeting for a hotel and meals, the response was the typical "well you shouldn't go if you can't afford it." I agree with what someone else said about Cruise Critic people not being the average travelers. However, some of them seem to live in a bubble where price, flexibility and free time are unlimited. Well, good for them, but that's not me. We had no trouble getting to Tokyo and even had an hour to sip cocktails and eat lunch in the Maple Leaf lounge in Toronto, where the entrance was located directly in front of our gate for the flight to Japan.

6 minutes ago, bluefish17 said:

Another point to make is that I think when these kinds of delays and missed connections start to happen, you are always better off at a big airport than at a small airport. If it was me, I would have flown to Chicago and spent the night there because there are so many more options to get from Chicago to Athens instead of small regional airport to Athens.

True, and I feel very fortunate to live in the DC area where we have 3 airports to choose from; not everyone does.

2 hours ago, Oceansaway17 said:

But plan for flights with better connections to absorb things that could go wrong. 

I agree with that. I think it *can* be risky (can, not must be) to book flights that are too close together. However, the initial post on this thread, and why we're discussing this issue, is that the original flight time changed from something like 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm, which made it increasingly likely that the OP would miss a connecting flight at 6. So again, regardless of whether the passenger booked the flight himself, through NCL, or through a travel agent, the postponement of the flight is beyond his control. So blaming NCL, once again, is blaming the wrong party. To sum it up, you can book flights that have generous connecting times, but if a flight gets delayed and delayed, no matter how much leeway you built in, you might still miss a connection.

9 minutes ago, Oceansaway17 said:

I for one like to control my flights and pay attention to connection times is most important.

I generally agree with you, but it's a bit of a misnomer to say "I like to control my flights." You don't, you only control the reservation. What happens to the flights is beyond your control. If a plane is delayed, there's a crew shortage, or bad weather, you have 0 control. The only difference here is that NCL did the reserving. What happens after that isn't on them.

1 minute ago, bluefish17 said:

United Airlines has a very good app. As soon as flights are delayed resulting in missed connections, it allows you to change to a new flight itinerary on the app. Way easier than waiting in a line or calling.

American has the same thing. We had a major delay on a flight a couple of years ago and I was able to rebook us on another flight using the app.

I agree with @zqvol. There's nothing wrong with blaming a cruise line for things that are within its control. It's not Norwegian Airlines, it's Norwegian Cruise Line, i.e. they have nothing to do with when airplanes take off, weather delays, short staffing, etc. One person's cheerleader is another person's fact checker. I see nothing wrong with pointing it out when someone blames the wrong company. I also strongly agree with @Capitan Obvious that coming onto Cruise Critic for the very first time to air a grievance is not going to create a good first impression. It's gotten tiresome to see this play out repeatedly. The person who authored this thread is still on the cruise, so it's a bit premature to slam the cruise line before the cruise itself is even finished.

13 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Not sure what a/he is saying…quit following after they took down the reddit posts.

 

My guess?  S/he booked a GTY rate and got mad about the cabin assigned?  Missed final payment and lost the cabin?

 

Who knows?  

 

But posting on reddit?  Then deleting?  Cutting and pasting a weird letter?

 

I call BS about the whole thing. But I guess the 'victim' just wanted attention and got it. 😏

Sorry to the OP, but NCL is 0% responsible, same as if you'd bought tickets yourself or had a travel agent do the booking. Why people continually blame NCL when they're not a fault, I'll never understand. I *am* sorry things went awry, that is certainly no way to start a vacation. But airlines have delays all the time, this week it's been especially bad due to some nasty weather. I hope OP is able to have a good time and hope NCL resolves the issue with the noisy dishwasher. BTW most people are perfectly happy with NCL's airfare, only the angry ones usually post about it, the rest (the silent majority) remain silent.

On 5/21/2024 at 10:34 AM, Nickles_1 said:

Forcing myself to drink just to get my money's worth makes zero sense to me, but different strokes for different folks, I guess.

Drinking a lot more in order to justify the DBP has its own downsides, or so I've heard. 😉🤣

Royal did nothing wrong, cruising without travel insurance is foolish, and this couple was clearly living beyond their means. I don't mean to sound harsh, but when you're still $1,000 short on a bill of $2,777 after maxing out a credit card AND draining your bank accounts, my math tells me these two likely had less than $1,500 to their names-how did they get a mortgage in the first place? Yeah, don't take cruises when you're in that precarious of a financial situation, even free cruises. Glad to see that he did finally get insurance, though. I think his doctors should put him back on the meds.

3 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

Matador and Grass Clippings are my two favorites.

Oh yeah, the Grass Clippings is another NCL favorite, thanks for mentioning it!

10 hours ago, Menocchio said:

I don't think the upgrade is worth it. I'd rather take the Free at Sea package and pay a few bucks here and there for the odd top shelf liquor (you only pay the price over $15) or latte if I want to splurge.

We're very much alike. Since my wife doesn't drink much, the Premium+ is wasted on us because only one of us would use it (and even then, since I don't drink Scotch or super-fancy liquors, I'd probably only use it for the nicer wines). I'm fine with doing as you do, paying as I go for the odd top shelf stuff. The $15 already included makes it nice.

15 hours ago, schmoopie17 said:

And, similarly...if you get a drink you like, you can also get another one. And another one. And...

Don't I know it! Thanks to this site, I've discovered the Rebellious Fish, the Mr. Worldwide, the Painkiller, and onboard I've made the acquaintance of the Lavender Patch, the Matador, and many others!

28 minutes ago, kelkel2 said:

So I absolutely need internet access to keep in touch and make sure they’re ok.

With respect, you don't "need" to do it, you just very much want to. As a human being, you need oxygen, water, food, clothing, and shelter. That's it. Everything else falls under the hierarchy of wants.

13 minutes ago, Liljo22 said:

The Harmony OTS cruise I mentioned above currently is $87.99pppd plus 18% for the drink package.  That's almost $1,500 per couple added to the cruise.  The base fare is also $200pp more than the Prima on the same itinerary(Prima adds HC) with an Oceanview Balcony on both.  

 

At that price, the drink package is no longer worth it.  

 

I would love to have this graphic to show people when they say the $21.80 pppd for gratuities on NCL is a rip-off. RCCL is much more expensive (and, at least in my experience, the rooms aren't cheaper enough to make up the difference.)

Remember also that when you have the package, if you buy a drink and don't like it, just get another one. If you don't have the package, you're stuck with a drink you don't like and will have to pay for the next one.

13 minutes ago, hallux said:

for $21.80 per day, try THAT on Royal!

100%! The one cruise we did with Royal, their beverage package was VERY expensive (even when we had a 30% discount). NCL's offer is one of the best bargains out there. We did Oceania once and the selection was very limited and only in the dining rooms at mealtimes.

On 5/18/2024 at 10:36 AM, kelkel2 said:

Like really break it down. 
So I get unlimited alcohol drinks under $15 with the included package. But no coffee or energy drinks? What about Gatorade and water? 
The specialty dining… how many meals do you get included on a 5 night cruise? You can eat at any specialty place? 
You still have to pay gratuities correct? Are they billed onto your account or paid in advance? 
Is the included WiFi unlimited? Decent? We’re looking on a cruise on the Escape if that matters. 
Anything else I need to know? This would be a first NCL cruise but certainly not our first cruise. 

"Free" doesn't mean "without cost," a common misconception. "Free" means "unrestricted," meaning you can dine and drink whenever you like, there are no fixed mealtimes or locations, and you don't have to pay for each drink as you go. That's one of the confusing things about the English language, namely that a word like "free" has multiple meanings.

On 5/18/2024 at 9:29 PM, valleyvillage said:

We cannot accommodate halal, organic or vegan menus or meal requests.

I'm glad to see that. I think it's wise for NCL to let vegans know upfront that they cannot be accommodated. That isn't to say that vegans can't find anything suitable; they can. But imagine the situation if NCL hadn't said it couldn't accommodate such requests. Vegans would be angry that they weren't told this beforehand. Now they have been told, upfront. My wife is vegetarian (not vegan) and she always finds plenty to eat, much of which is also suitable for vegans. Just don't go expecting they'll always have vegan cheese, vegan meat, no dairy products, honey, or any other animal-derived product. NCL is called a mass-market line for a reason. Most cruisers aren't vegan.