NCL Joy behind the scenes tour

[The Traveling Man]

51 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

Never took advantage of the dinner with officer(s).  Didn't seem to be interesting, plus the officers would likely be going through the motions of having yet another guest dinner (ho hum for them)....but the offer of a tour (which is likely a one-off, lucky thing) would make it pretty special.  Glad you got to do that.  It seems pretty great.

 

It has been hit-or-miss for us.  We have had dinner with more than two dozen NCL officers.  Some were junior officers who seemed to be overwhelmed at the prospect of being "thrown to the wolves" and expected to entertain a number of seasoned passengers.  A few times the officer seemed bothered to have to take time from his or her busy day to deal with the "great unwashed masses."  More often than not, though, we have enjoyed dinner with one or more senior officers who genuinely seemed interested in getting to know their customers, share their personal experiences, and enjoy the opportunity to meet new friends.  Some of my best, most memorable moments on cruises have been the dinners we have shared with GMs Alain, Djamel, Manny, and Armando.  Add to that two Captains, including the one who invited us to the bridge.  We met Security Chief Tung Tellez, whose family escaped Vietnam when the US pulled out.  He grew up in Miami, had a career with the Miami PD, then was recruited by NCL.  We've sailed with him several times since then, and he always has been a friendly face.  Then there was dinner with a Chief Engineer who now lives in a tiny town in Florida, just a couple of blocks from my wife's childhood home.  Most times the meal was in the MDR, but three times it was in Le Bistro and once in Cagney's.  It's always nice to get an extra night in a specialty restaurant.

[Laszlo]

55 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

It has been hit-or-miss for us.  We have had dinner with more than two dozen NCL officers.  Some were junior officers who seemed to be overwhelmed at the prospect of being "thrown to the wolves" and expected to entertain a number of seasoned passengers.  A few times the officer seemed bothered to have to take time from his or her busy day to deal with the "great unwashed masses."  More often than not, though, we have enjoyed dinner with one or more senior officers who genuinely seemed interested in getting to know their customers, share their personal experiences, and enjoy the opportunity to meet new friends.  Some of my best, most memorable moments on cruises have been the dinners we have shared with GMs Alain, Djamel, Manny, and Armando.  Add to that two Captains, including the one who invited us to the bridge.  We met Security Chief Tung Tellez, whose family escaped Vietnam when the US pulled out.  He grew up in Miami, had a career with the Miami PD, then was recruited by NCL.  We've sailed with him several times since then, and he always has been a friendly face.  Then there was dinner with a Chief Engineer who now lives in a tiny town in Florida, just a couple of blocks from my wife's childhood home.  Most times the meal was in the MDR, but three times it was in Le Bistro and once in Cagney's.  It's always nice to get an extra night in a specialty restaurant.

I want to have dinner with Captain Kate!!!   Lol

[GeezerCouple]

3 hours ago, Laszlo said:

I want to have dinner with Captain Kate!!!   Lol

 

And meet Bug Naked, her cat, who travels with her, of course! 

 

GC

 

[The Traveling Man]

3 hours ago, Laszlo said:

I want to have dinner with Captain Kate!!!   Lol

I'm not sure if X offers that as a perk the way NCL does (or used to).  I'll be on the Beyond in February.  She is slated to be on board, so I'll report back if we are successful in making it to the Captain's Table for dinner.

[phillygwm]

22 hours ago, JGmf said:

Never took advantage of the dinner with officer(s).  Didn't seem to be interesting, plus the officers would likely be going through the motions of having yet another guest dinner (ho hum for them)....but the offer of a tour (which is likely a one-off, lucky thing) would make it pretty special.  Glad you got to do that.  It seems pretty great.

I just made Sapphire so I would now qualify for this benefit.  I doubt I'll ever take advantage.  I tend to be uncomfortable in social situations where there are a lot of people I don't know.  It's the same reason you'll never see me at a M&G.   I'm already in a job that requires occasional dinners, cocktail parties, etc.  The thought of making small talk on vacation already stresses me out.  And, to your point, I'm sure the officers have better things to do as well.

Edited November 5, 2022 by phillygwm

[Turtles06]

20 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

I'm not sure if X offers that as a perk the way NCL does (or used to).  I'll be on the Beyond in February.  She is slated to be on board, so I'll report back if we are successful in making it to the Captain's Table for dinner.

 

There is no similar "perk" on Celebrity for Captain's Club members.   (On any cruise line, some folks might get invited to the Captain's table for dinner.)

[The Traveling Man]

56 minutes ago, Turtles06 said:

 

There is no similar "perk" on Celebrity for Captain's Club members.   (On any cruise line, some folks might get invited to the Captain's table for dinner.)

Thanks for the info.  We are still at the bottom of the rung as Celebrity Captain's Club members, so I really haven't started checking out what perks are offered to upper tier members.  At the very least, we'll try to strike up a conversation with Captain Kate if we happen to bump into her when we are on the  Beyond in February.

[OttawaJohn]

Re: bridge access, it was hit and miss for me the last decade.  I can't recall specifics but do remember some didn't do the bridge, another had us in a room separated by glass from the bridge so we could see in but not interact.  Twice though I clearly recall full access, seeing consoles, going to the wing and looking out, etc.

 

I called NCL a bit ago asking as I liked them and wondered for our upcoming cruise and the agent was honest, saying no they weren't back and the line would probably take the opportunity since they hadn't been doing them to just not restart, due to the disruption they cause.

 

Bummer, but I get it.

[cruiseny4life]

On 11/3/2022 at 4:57 PM, ChiefMateJRK said:

Yep.  It's like those chocolate covered strawberries.  DW eats one and then we have to figure out how to get rid of the leftover.  

My husband will take any strawberries you or your wife don't want. He kills for those things!

[ChiefMateJRK]

49 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

My husband will take any strawberries you or your wife don't want. He kills for those things!

It's the logistics brother.  I have that nice reusable tray with three leftover strawberries.  I can't throw it in the trash.  We're not supposed to leave it in the hallway.  And, I don't know which cabins nearby want the danged things.  So they just sit there for days looking more and more tired.  I guess I should take some post-it notes next time and leave a note on the thing asking for the Steward to remove it.

[JGmf]

5 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

So they just sit there for days looking more and more tired. 

 

Amen.  Chocolate-covered fruit: most overrated thing ever.*

 

*Not consensus opinion, I know...

[cruiseny4life]

21 hours ago, ChiefMateJRK said:

It's the logistics brother.  I have that nice reusable tray with three leftover strawberries.  I can't throw it in the trash.  We're not supposed to leave it in the hallway.  And, I don't know which cabins nearby want the danged things.  So they just sit there for days looking more and more tired.  I guess I should take some post-it notes next time and leave a note on the thing asking for the Steward to remove it.

Oh! That's no good. I get why it's annoying. I suppose you can't feed the fishies! 

[like2cruise33]

On 10/31/2022 at 8:01 PM, BirdTravels said:

I do not think that they have offered the BTS tours on any ship yet. They did not offer BTS or dinner on the Prima two weeks ago. Just the wine tasting and latitudes party. 

I was hoping to get the bts on the GEM (in Dec.) as it is one of the older ships, and I had hoped to see it on the Prima - the newest ship. No such luck. I goofed and missed the wine tasting on the Prima, guess I will do it on the Joy.

[like2cruise33]

On 11/7/2022 at 10:43 AM, cruiseny4life said:

My husband will take any strawberries you or your wife don't want. He kills for those things!

I put the strawberries in one of the cups that are in the room, into the refrigerator - they keep till I eat them. I love the way the dish is too large for the refrig. Besides cold chocolate is better. Wait my mouth is watering thinking of Sat.

[RonDuCanada]

Any updates on the BTS tour? If NCL is not going to reinstate this benefit then they should remove it from the tier description for Platinum and above.  I find this a little deceitful. I was the Escape in July and there was no BTS tour and we will be on the Escape in February and we’re hoping for the tour.

 

We are currently on Virgin’s Valiant Lady and they charge $200 for a behind the scene tour. We didn’t do it but may next time we cruise on Virgin.

[BirdTravels]

1 hour ago, RonDuCanada said:

Any updates on the BTS tour? If NCL is not going to reinstate this benefit then they should remove it from the tier description for Platinum and above.  I find this a little deceitful. I was the Escape in July and there was no BTS tour and we will be on the Escape in February and we’re hoping for the tour.

 

We are currently on Virgin’s Valiant Lady and they charge $200 for a behind the scene tour. We didn’t do it but may next time we cruise on Virgin.

By any chance have you heard of something called COVID? With new cases with both passengers and crew weekly, a ”temporary suspension’ is still warranted. 

[The Traveling Man]

14 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

By any chance have you heard of something called COVID? With new cases with both passengers and crew weekly, a ”temporary suspension’ is still warranted. 

Completely understandable that it could be suspended temporarily.  It seems that the point that @RonDuCanadawas trying to make, however, is that since the return to sailing after the COVID suspension, NCL has continued to list the BTS tour as a Latitudes benefit.  It has been almost a year and a half since the return to sailing and NCL still has does not include a notice on their Latitudes Rewards Benefits chart indicating that this benefit as well as some others are currently suspended.  It seems reasonable that if they do not intend to fulfill their promises that they at least could mention the suspension, if not completely remove mention of the benefits which they have no intention of providing at the present time.  It very reasonably could be considered deceitful on NCL's part.  I prefer to grant them the benefit of the doubt, however, and simply assume that the right hand doesn't know what the left is doing, indicative of a lack of competence on the part of NCL management, or at least a lack of attention to detail.

[tgloersen]

On 11/4/2022 at 10:20 AM, dexddd said:

What ship and when?  We just sailed Prima and I asked concierge about this as well as refund of port fees for missed stop.  He never got back.

I beleive just over a year ago on Breakaway, cruise reposition from NYC to NOLA.