wdsted

@4774papa: Thanks for your very informative post. Good stuff!

This one is easy. Sail with another line if you're unhappy with the changes. NCL works for us. I do have to disagree about a drop in crew quality though. We go on at least 2 NCL cruises yearly and have never been unsatisfied with the overall service provided. Not once.

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ATM fees at the machine aren't high enough to worry about. Some banks tack on additional fees though. Check with your bank. Schwab Bank, for example, charges no fees and refunds all ATM fees so there's no cost. Regardless of your bank, you'll get a good exchange rate compared to currency exchange outlets. And it's a good idea to let your bank/cc company know you'll be overseas so they don't shut down your card for fraud reasons.

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I beg to differ but bottled water IS dumb. Over half of it comes directly from a tap with no additional filtering. The cost to purchase it is staggering considering it's a simple H2O molecule. The environmental cost in terms of the energy required to haul it around (from Bali, really?) is staggering, not to mention how lazy people don't consider recycling the empties or worry about throwing them wherever they happen to be using it. Granted, it's not as dumb as soda which actually rots your body and makes you fat.

Also, the observation that NCL is overcharging for bottled water is similar to the frequent outrage over upgraded dining charges, neither of which are required. You don't have to buy it and you can haul it onboard if you like.

I can't even believe that fellow passengers actually pack alcohol wipes in their luggage to wipe up residual poop-air from the tap.

I drink tab water here at home, but I would never drink tap water on a ship. I will be more than happy to lug a case of water onboard!

Do you forego ice while cruising? Comes from the same place.

Give your pocketbook and the planet a break. Drink tap water. I marvel both at people lugging on cases of water and complaining about the price of it on board. Bottled water, except for use during natural disasters, is dumb.

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Yes, he can visit you in your cabin. As for rooming with you, that depends upon how much privacy he wants (he'll have none ) and how comfortable you'll be with having someone's bedroom in your common area and access to the balcony. Sounds like a possible disaster to me.

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Net of it for me is that I don't think NCL is trying to cheat anyone. It's more than fair to charge $100 (7-day cruises) to each UDP passenger drinking for nada to tip the crew who's made those free drinks. My husband and I typically spend updwards of $800/cruise + tips for our booze during a 1-week cruise and this deal saves us a lot of money. Reading the fine print aside, what alcohol-consuming, having-a-good-time-on-a-cruise kind of person doesn't tip $14 a day for top shelf hooch served by some great folks? If it doesn't add up for you, choose the lousy internet access, shore excursion credit, or UDP. Each, by the way, has its own terms and conditions.