Anyone doing a live view of the 3/10 Getaway sailing?

[mking8288]

16 hours ago, PistolPete13 said:

... saw 2 large box trucks (not 18 wheelers) doing a restock in the US Virgin Islands port.  Maybe our extra sea day from skipping Amber Cove and the subsequent two cold seas days that kept everyone inside threw off their usage estimates...

We saw at least 1 tractor trailer (full size container truck) provisioning the GA in St. Thomas as we left the pier area to sightsee on our own - which I thought was somewhat odd, as everything is more expensive on these islands, unless they are bring onboard fresh produce, vegetables and/or other locally sourced items at better prices than the U.S. mainland.  

 

Between stops in NYC and Port Canaveral, there are plenty of wholesale food distributors that can delivered to NCL, whether they are major and/or preferred vendors with procured recurring contracts ... and we understood that NCL does give preference to select small businesses on who & what to buy.

 

The other challenge that I see, is that ship's walk-in galleries are fully capable of stocking the ship for 3 to 4 weeks worth of food & other consumable, if not more, and has to plan well ahead to maintain contingency supplies, just in case - and, that there really shouldn't be "this" way lately.  My mouth nearly dropped when our room steward told us that they're low on facial tissues on ship's turnaround day (that was while in NYC) and that they needed to wait until Day 2, when boxes in the pallets loaded below decks were finally opened & sorted for distribution to their department.  Thankfully, we didn't run out of and they still had plenty of TP.   

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

Anyone just off the ship care to fill us in on how things went? 

[sailorusvi]

On 3/17/2023 at 12:50 PM, mking8288 said:

We saw at least 1 tractor trailer (full size container truck) provisioning the GA in St. Thomas as we left the pier area to sightsee on our own - which I thought was somewhat odd, as everything is more expensive on these islands, unless they are bring onboard fresh produce, vegetables and/or other locally sourced items at better prices than the U.S. mainland.  

 

 

 

As someone who lived in the USVI and husband had to order for a large hotel, I find it odd also.    Nothing really grows in the USVI.  There are some small farms, but not enough to sustain the island, let alone a ship(s).  Everything is shipped in (at a cost as there is an excise tax in addition to customs for items produced outside of the US).   I can't imagine anything would be cheaper (except rum 🙂 ).  Maybe the containership had a container for the ship and they were in port at the same time?  Not sure, but again a little odd.

[Paul_TO]

19 hours ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

Anyone just off the ship care to fill us in on how things went? 

 

The combinations of capacity, ship design, service cuts and other events made for a challenging cruise - anyone here as their first one may well be wondering what the fuss is.

 

It was the loudest and most partying group I've ever sailed with, and that includes a spring breaker crowd on a Carnival sailing.

 

They did have the "Behind the Scenes" Tour where they told us there were 4,850 passengers.  That made the service cuts blatantly obvious - long lines everywhere, slow service, and lots of uncleared tables and litter all over the ship.  The server in one restaurant would be pushing a vacuum and bussing in another the next day.  It's as if they were not only short, but also training many new employees at the same time.  There's always some inexperience but I've never seen so much of it in so many areas. Blame the staffing, not the staff.

 

Guest services was consistently busy all week.  One of our group was down there almost every day dealing with one issue that never really got settled, and another that the manager eventually had to step in as the desk agents seemed to have no comprehension of what she was trying to explain.

 

I've mentioned the beer elsewhere, but they ran low enough on yogurt that the staff started doling it out.

 

The strain of the sailing size was exacerbated by the closure of 40% of the Garden Cafe due to the flooding, along with the closures of Entourage, the Arcade, and the American Diner.

 

Losing a day in Orlando and replacing Bermuda with Nassau, (it's always Nassau) due to weather was disappointing, especially for people who had purchased their own park passes - I heard of a few people leaving in Orlando, I expect some of them may be here or on Reddit in the future asking why NCL is charging them extra.

 

Ultimately these are First World Problems.  It's still vacation and someone else (eventually) doing the cooking and cleaning.

 

The Specialty dining restaurants were good (our friends complained about late starting service at Teppanyaki).  We didn't experience any problems ourselves at any of our choices, and had our nicest dinner at Le Bistro. It took us a few tries to make it into the noodle bar as one "Bro" in line would suddenly become 12 just in time for the opening.  Still the best lunch on board. The patrons at the bar in Headliners formed a line to order, which was a highly preferred change from the free for alls elsewhere.

 

Casino was busy. Ropes course was fun, but could get quickly overrun.

 

 

[mking8288]

A good summary of some of the challenges onboard last week from Paul ... thank you from another CC addict here.

 

There is additional comment/feedback, another brief summary posted this morning on the GA's roll call - here's the link, easier to go direct as newbies might get lost with CC's no so great "search" function - 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2857287-march-10-2023-ncl-getaway/page/3/#comments

 

If the above report is true & close to accurate - 4,850 pax is practically almost at max lifeboat capacity and being short on staff (crew members ... plus the relative lack of experienced one & trainees in action on their first contract) - oh mine, that'll not make for a smooth onboard experience. As I learned to say often these days, just go with the flow and easy does it.  

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

Anyone who disembarked and didn't return in Orlando is going to get a $700+ Jones Act fee billed to them. 

[nmuller328]

26 minutes ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

Anyone who disembarked and didn't return in Orlando is going to get a $700+ Jones Act fee billed to them. 

this comment sparked my interest re the Jones Act- thought I'd share an informative link- https://thepointsguy.com/guide/what-is-the-jones-act-for-cruise-ships/

[KP@Sea]

4 hours ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

Anyone who disembarked and didn't return in Orlando is going to get a $700+ Jones Act fee billed to them. 

The Jones act relates only to cargo. The PVSA relates to passengers. I think the amount of the fine is correct though ⚓️

[LoungerOnBalcony55]

1 hour ago, Winky7650 said:

The Jones act relates only to cargo. The PVSA relates to passengers. I think the amount of the fine is correct though ⚓️

Whichever one it is, I got whacked once when I had to disembark in Orlando mid-cruise due to an emergency. Granted I "checked out" at guest services so they knew I was leaving, but I assume if you just bailed they would still bill the amount...for your convenience...to the card they have on file. 

[KP@Sea]

33 minutes ago, LoungerOnBalcony55 said:

Whichever one it is, I got whacked once when I had to disembark in Orlando mid-cruise due to an emergency. Granted I "checked out" at guest services so they knew I was leaving, but I assume if you just bailed they would still bill the amount...for your convenience...to the card they have on file. 

That’s a shame. You would think an exception would be made for an emergency. I hope things worked out for you, except for the fee.

[sailorusvi]

28 minutes ago, Winky7650 said:

That’s a shame. You would think an exception would be made for an emergency. I hope things worked out for you, except for the fee.

PVSA fines the cruise line if someone departs the ship before going to a foreign port first. That is because foreign flagged cruiseships are unable to transport people directly from a US city to another US city.    If the cruise line gets fined, they pass the fine on to the passenger.

Edited March 19, 2023 by sailorusvi