No Alcohol in any UK ports - what! 😱

[cruiseny4life]

10 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

But that's just it, I'm NOT applying that logic to those other issues because they aren't happening and are therefore irrelevant. This is what is known as whataboutism, in which the speaker dodges answering the question at hand by attempting to say "well what's your solution to all of these other, hypothetical issues." I don't have to answer a question that isn't germane to this discussion.

Just taking your rationale and extrapolating it to other NCL operations is not whataboutism. There's a direct, logical line from one to the other based on what you have been saying regarding going off the ship to grab a beer, then wandering back on after consuming the beer...because you know security won't let you carry onto the ship. 

 

Alas, back to the shadows I go. 

[DCGuy64]

8 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Just taking your rationale and extrapolating it to other NCL operations is not whataboutism. There's a direct, logical line from one to the other based on what you have been saying regarding going off the ship to grab a beer, then wandering back on after consuming the beer...because you know security won't let you carry onto the ship. 

 

Alas, back to the shadows I go. 

I disagree. You could go mad trying to say "What if" to every situation, which is what your example suggested. NCL ceased doing the Priscilla Queen of the Desert show on the Epic. What if they cancel all the shows, oh no! NCL stopped serving Veuve champagne (at least according to some reports), what if they stop serving ANY champagne at all, what then? Some have reported that specialty restaurants are limiting passengers to just one item per category, so no more multiple appetizers, salads etc. What if they take away the 40 oz Tomahawk steak, too? What if, what if, what if. This just takes us down a rabbit hole, and I say we should stay focused on the point of this thread, which is a couple of cruises in the UK in May 2023. That's it.

Edited May 18, 2023 by DCGuy64

[graphicguy]

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

I am perfectly happy to allow them to get away with a mistake, or whatever it was. That is exactly what I did last year in Athens.

 

However, this is not one NCL person who made one mistake. It is an ongoing story of these mistakes, or whatever they are.

 

For NCLs own sake they need to find out how to stop this keeping on happening.

In all frankness, on every cruise I’ve sailed, on 5 different cruise lines, something goes amiss.  Sometimes it’s major, sometimes minor, some in between.

 

I’m amazed that given the complexity of a sailing ship, serving thousands of passengers and crew food and drinks, entertaining them, making them as much comfort as a lux hotel, in sometimes unpredictable weather, while floating in sometimes tempestuous seas, much more doesn’t go wrong.

[DCGuy64]

5 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

In all frankness, on every cruise I’ve sailed, on 5 different cruise lines, something goes amiss.  Sometimes it’s major, sometimes minor, some in between.

 

I’m amazed that given the complexity of a sailing ship, serving thousands of passengers and crew food and drinks, entertaining them, making them as much comfort as a lux hotel, in sometimes unpredictable weather, while floating in sometimes tempestuous seas, much more doesn’t go wrong.

Excellent post, my thoughts exactly.

[Cruising Lynne]

I had a comment, but realized it was off topic.

Edited May 18, 2023 by Cruising Lynne

[flamingo_fancies]

27 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Wow, all of them are in Southampton at the same time as NCL's ship? Must be a whole lot of berths at that cruise port!

4 berths in Southampton, all full a couple of days last week.

[Misself]

3 hours ago, podgeandrodge said:

I wouldn't blame standard customer service agents at this stage - they have clearly been told from "on high" not to say another word.  The big question is whether NCL are desperately trying to fix the issue behind the scenes, or whether they are just hoping this will blow over.  I don't think it will, and they'll have to address it, or the issue will likely become more viral in terms of Youtube blogs etc. giving them a bad name.  

We had a Twitter/Blogger on our Sun cruise last November and I reached out to ask her thoughts on the ‘No alcohol in Gibraltar’.  She never replied and I did think maybe she didn’t want to bad mouth them for some reason 😉.
 

I saw cruisemummy put her blog on Twitter and there were a few shocked reactions.  Hopefully there will be more bloggers commenting (assuming the issues continue).

 

 
 

.  

[schmoopie17]

3 hours ago, Greener123 said:

currently on 

From the above sign, not only did NCL not know about local regulations (or chose to ignore them), but they are very bad at grammar. ("This include"...)

 

That's the last straw. I'm never sailing NCL again!!

Edited May 18, 2023 by schmoopie17

[DCGuy64]

Just now, Cruising Lynne said:

You seem to be the common denominator in the arguments. 

That's because I'm the only one on the side of the "maybe NCL isn't the bad guy" argument. It stands to reason that if 99 people are on one side and only 1 on the other, the guy on the other side will always be the common denominator.

[hawkeyetlse]

One story on the Breakaway was that the unusual restrictions in Livorno (only wine and beer, no spirits) were motivated by the local government hoping to make staying on board less enjoyable, thereby encouraging people to get off the ship and spend money on land. But this was complete speculation, and not at all believable to me. For one thing, lots of people can enjoy themselves just fine with wine and beer all day long. And above all, why continue to “punish” cruise ship guests long after sailaway, when spending money ashore is no longer an option for them?

 

It makes more sense to me that liquor is simply in a higher tax category, and it costs less to get authorization to serve just wine and beer. And NCL is all about paying less. 

[SteveH2508]

10 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

<snip>

This just takes us down a rabbit hole, and I say we should stay focused on the point of this thread, which is a couple of cruises in the UK in May 2023. That's it.

There is a further point to this thread. NCL has shown a history of these problems, unlike any other cruise line. They have been less than forthcoming about the cause(s).

 

There is a valid discussion to be had about NCL's administration and lack of communications between head office, customer services and the ships.

 

You seem to be deliberately avoiding these issues.

[flamingo_fancies]

34 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Yes and apparently all of them neglecting to pay required VAT!

Said who??

[roxette]

Most of the major the Cruise Blogs, radios, news and such are dependent on invites from Cruise Lines. So do not count on any bad press. 

[podgeandrodge]

Just now, roxette said:

Most of the major the Cruise Blogs, radios, news and such are dependent on invites from Cruise Lines. So do not count on any bad press. 

Well in fairness, cruisemummy did just that, which shows some independence 

[insidecabin]

43 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

Wow, all of them are in Southampton at the same time as NCL's ship? Must be a whole lot of berths at that cruise port!

Many are in the same week, sometimes 5 are in the same day

https://www.southamptonvts.co.uk/Live_Information/Shipping_Movements_and_Cruise_Ship_Schedule/Cruise_Ship_Schedule/

 

 

[Greener123]

34 minutes ago, flamingo_fancies said:

4 berths in Southampton, all full a couple of days last week.

5 👍🏻

[Pooston]

3 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Generally I have found your posts to be quite reasonable, but then when you make vague, sarcastic remarks about a conspiracy, it deters from your otherwise logical approach. That's a pity, actually. I highly doubt it's any conspiracy, but you seem to be dismissing other possibilities. Sure, it's possible NCL screwed up, it's also possible they got caught out (we got multiple citations for my late father-in-law's car which my wife inherited upon his death, the registration had lapsed so the police kept issuing us tickets. Did we "screw up? No, my wife was having a hard time finding the paperwork for the car, the title, etc and then the DMV was effectively closed due to Covid and it took months to get the title transferred and the car properly registered) Do you see what I mean? Someone seeing the car on the street with all the tickets might conclude we were just too cheap or lazy to get it registered, when the full story was MUCH more complicated. So it's possible (not likely, but POSSIBLE) that this issue with NCL in the UK was some bureaucratic snafu. I regret to say I never saw the P&O post to which you refer. I can't say I've ever even been on that site, but it's possible I've visited it once or twice over the past 10 years. I agree with you, by the way, that this isn't a court of law, so the burden of proof is lower. But unless you've missed it, a lot of posters ARE treating it that way by accusing NCL of illegal practices, stealing their money and threatening lawsuits. Sure sounds legal to me.

 

Good grief! We're not talking about a layman losing paperwork here, we're taking a multi million dollar company who have been sailing out of Southampton for years with no issues. It's absolutely ridiculous even consider they weren't given sufficient notice to pay port fees, yet all other cruise lines were 😂😂 

[Pooston]

2 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Even on land? There was a total embargo on alcohol? You *could* get a glass of wine (or a bottle) with your dinner if you'd availed yourself of the free 6 bottle allowance NCL gives you, and paid no corkage fee to enjoy it assuming you'd had the beverage package, which it seems most have. I'd certainly say it's not ideal, but not the end of the world. And again, I feel pretty sure plenty of pubs in Southampton would've loved to have the custom.

 

But on my 4th May sailing we did not know before we boarded that no.alcohol was being served 🙄

[Pooston]

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Embarkation day, if anything, gives the punters even more of a chance to have their tipple before the cruise. Another non-issue.

 

And what about those who drive to the port? You do realise drinking and driving us illegal in the UK don't you 😂

[PATRLR]

On 5/11/2023 at 4:59 PM, twoznuff2 said:

Well something is not being comunicated correctly. This was my chat with NCL just now ( we have a Med cruise coming up so I am interested in this topic)

Megan (5/11/2023, 1:46:16 PM): Hello laurie. Thank you for chatting with Norwegian Cruise Line. My name is Megan. I would be happy to assist you today. 
Megan (5/11/2023, 1:46:23 PM): How may I assist you today, Laurie? 
laurie (5/11/2023, 1:47:23 PM): Hello, I have been reading some information on a cruise board that says NCL is not serving or selling alcohol in the UK ports and some Italy ports. Is this correct? 
Megan (5/11/2023, 1:48:28 PM): One moment while I find out for sure. 
Megan (5/11/2023, 1:50:14 PM): That is incorrect we serve alcohol in all ports of call. 
Megan (5/11/2023, 1:50:30 PM): I just wanted to double check that nothing had changed, and I did confirm this. 
Megan (5/11/2023, 1:50:37 PM): Is there anything else I can assist you with today? 
laurie (5/11/2023, 1:52:07 PM): huh.. someone posted a picture of a sign that said due to southhampton laws they could not serve or sell alcohol. 
Megan (5/11/2023, 1:52:25 PM): I completely understand but I did confirm that there are currently no port limitations on where we can serve alcohol. 
laurie (5/11/2023, 1:52:40 PM): Thank you. 
Megan (5/11/2023, 1:52:46 PM): You're welcome.  Is there anything else I can assist you with today? 
laurie (5/11/2023, 1:53:01 PM): all is good thanks 

It is hilarious to me to think people actually believe what call center people tell them as if the call center people are all-knowing. 

[flamingo_fancies]

53 minutes ago, Greener123 said:

5 👍🏻

Yes forgot QE

[KeithJenner]

1 hour ago, flamingo_fancies said:

Said who??

NCL said it and you have no solid evidence to disprove it so the only reasonable course of action is to believe it. 🙂

[KeithJenner]

Well I don't know about anyone else, but if we are going out for a meal in the evening then we often decide not to have any wine with the meal because we can always nip down the pub for a couple of pints at lunchtime instead.

 

It's basically the same really isn't it?

 

In fact, I think I may just cancel the beverage package on my next cruise and instead we will get our transfer to stop at a bar in Civitavecchia at lunchtime before boarding and then we don't need to worry about ordering any wine at Moderno in the evening.

 

🙂

Edited May 18, 2023 by KeithJenner

[SteveH2508]

5 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

Well I don't know about anyone else, but if we are going out for a meal in the evening then we often decide not to have any wine with the meal because we can always nip down the pub for a couple of pints at lunchtime instead.

 

It's basically the same really isn't it?

 

In fact, I think I may just cancel the beer package on my next cruise and instead we will get our transfer to stop at a bar in Civitavecchia at lunchtime before boarding and then we don't need to worry about ordering any wine at Moderno in the evening.

 

🙂

Apparently the term nowadays is 'pre-loading'.

 

In my Battalion shooting team days they were 'warmers into the bank' - followed later by 'shots down the range'🍻.

[Norwayfan1]

8 minutes ago, KeithJenner said:

Well I don't know about anyone else, but if we are going out for a meal in the evening then we often decide not to have any wine with the meal because we can always nip down the pub for a couple of pints at lunchtime instead.

 

It's basically the same really isn't it?

 

In fact, I think I may just cancel the beverage package on my next cruise and instead we will get our transfer to stop at a bar in Civitavecchia at lunchtime before boarding and then we don't need to worry about ordering any wine at Moderno in the evening.

 

🙂

Why bother cancelling the beverage package? Just pay up anyway, even if you buy all the booze in town. NCL will be grateful for your dosh. 😁