I Wish I Knew How to Quit You

[PATRLR]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I have done one Princess sailing since the restart and it was the worst cruise (in terms of onboard experience) I have ever been on. I have been assured that the service and food quality issues we experienced on that sailing are atypical of Princess, but the ship/cabin issues would be the same on all sailings until the Sun Princess and Star Princess come out with their new cabin configurations, since all of the existing ships have the exact same cabin layout. I hope you have a better experience than we did!

Well now I need to go read your "live" report... 😉

[JamieLogical]

4 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

Well now I need to go read your "live" report... 😉

 

I just reread it to refer my memory. Let me know if you need the link.

[iluvthe-c]

@JamieLogical I know you love your Mr. Worldwide.  It is no longer on any of the Joy cocktail menus.  In November the bartenders were adamant about sticking to that particular bar's menu which was the same in many of the bars.  I finally was able to score a Mr. Worldwide toward the end of the cruise after many asks.  I wish I could remember which bar, but I do not.

 

[JamieLogical]

53 minutes ago, iluvthe-c said:

@JamieLogical I know you love your Mr. Worldwide.  It is no longer on any of the Joy cocktail menus.  In November the bartenders were adamant about sticking to that particular bar's menu which was the same in many of the bars.  I finally was able to score a Mr. Worldwide toward the end of the cruise after many asks.  I wish I could remember which bar, but I do not.

 

 

Well that seals it! What good is an NCL cruise without a Mr. Worldwide!?!?

 

Seriously though, they will only stick to the cocktails on the menu? I can't tell them the ingredients to something and have them make it for me?

[rxlowry]

12 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Well that seals it! What good is an NCL cruise without a Mr. Worldwide!?!?

 

Seriously though, they will only stick to the cocktails on the menu? I can't tell them the ingredients to something and have them make it for me?

I was on the Joy and asked for a Boulevardier at the A list bar (outside of cagney’s and bistro) and was told that is on menu only at District Brewhouse (it’s not). It’s a simple three ingredient drink and all ingredients were on shelf.  He flat out refused.  I left a comment in the hotel managers box and received a message on my phone from the head mixologist who wanted to meet me.  He was fantastic and I saw him all week throughout the ship. So please ask to talk to Glen, he’s so knowledgeable and friendly. He wanted me to have each bartender call him so he could come make me drinks.  I refused to do that!!! 

[hallux]

12 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

Seriously though, they will only stick to the cocktails on the menu? I can't tell them the ingredients to something and have them make it for me?

On the Bliss in late January one of the other solos had a drink from back home that she liked.  She asked at the pool bar if they could make it (with her guidance since it wasn't on the menu) and they made it for her.  They even made a couple more when another solo wanted to try it and she needed a refill.

[iluvthe-c]

On the Joy the bartenders would make the classic cocktail that was not on their menu (cosmo, greyhound, etc) but would not go off-menu.  I was told I needed to go to another bar if I wanted a drink from another menu.  When the bartender finally agreed to make a Mr. Worldwide, he told me not to tell on him.

[ontheweb]

59 minutes ago, iluvthe-c said:

On the Joy the bartenders would make the classic cocktail that was not on their menu (cosmo, greyhound, etc) but would not go off-menu.  I was told I needed to go to another bar if I wanted a drink from another menu.  When the bartender finally agreed to make a Mr. Worldwide, he told me not to tell on him.

I hope you tipped him well. 😉

[cruiseny4life]

1 hour ago, iluvthe-c said:

On the Joy the bartenders would make the classic cocktail that was not on their menu (cosmo, greyhound, etc) but would not go off-menu.  I was told I needed to go to another bar if I wanted a drink from another menu.  When the bartender finally agreed to make a Mr. Worldwide, he told me not to tell on him.

And here you are, breaking the deal with the bartender though not by name. Some things are better left unsaid. 

[reeinaz]

14 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

Well that seals it! What good is an NCL cruise without a Mr. Worldwide!?!?

 

Seriously though, they will only stick to the cocktails on the menu? I can't tell them the ingredients to something and have them make it for me?

We have to order some Alabama slammers on our MSC cruise 🙂

[JamieLogical]

3 minutes ago, reeinaz said:

We have to order some Alabama slammers on our MSC cruise 🙂

 

My bartender on the Divina last month mastered the Alabama Slammer and made many for me over the course of my cruise. Apparently others who were on the same sailing and reading my liveblog also asked him for them when I wasn't around!

[JGmf]

18 hours ago, iluvthe-c said:

In November the bartenders were adamant about sticking to that particular bar's menu which was the same in many of the bars. 

 

Piling-on.  Had the same issue in various bars last year on both the Prima and the Joy. I wasn't asking for blender drinks, only stuff mixed with bottles and ingredients I could clearly see behind the bar.  Got a lot of polite "no's".  I thought it was major BS.

 

I'm assuming NCL is trying to cement-in the theme/identity of each bar...to the consternation of guests, who, I'm also assuming (like me), couldn't care less.

[JamieLogical]

12 minutes ago, JGmf said:

 

Piling-on.  Had the same issue in various bars last year on both the Prima and the Joy. I wasn't asking for blender drinks, only stuff mixed with bottles and ingredients I could clearly see behind the bar.  Got a lot of polite "no's".  I thought it was major BS.

 

I'm assuming NCL is trying to cement-in the theme/identity of each bar...to the consternation of guests, who, I'm also assuming (like me), couldn't care less.

 

I don't mind each bar having its own signature drinks and its own vibe, but it makes no sense that they wouldn't mix a drink using clearly visible ingredients that are right there. That makes no sense and I have never had that issue at any bar on any cruise ship.

[cruiseny4life]

2 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

 

I don't mind each bar having its own signature drinks and its own vibe, but it makes no sense that they wouldn't mix a drink using clearly visible ingredients that are right there. That makes no sense and I have never had that issue at any bar on any cruise ship.

It's a NCL perk. Scavenger hunt your drink! 

[Jenjohncourt]

On 2/29/2024 at 6:43 AM, graphicguy said:

I've dined at Coastal Kitchen, Chops, Jamie's and Giovanni's.  Out of all of them, Chops was the one I liked the most.  The rest?  Not worth the uncharge.  

 

Pizza?  I'm Italian so NONE of them are very good (including MSC's).

 

NCL....I have dined at ALL of their specialty restaurants.  Favorite has been Ocean Blu.  But, on a 7 nite cruise, while not Diamond, I am Sapphire.  That gives me 2 SDs and 2 more SDs from FAS, plus one dinner at LeBistro (my LEAST favorite SD) from AMEX for paying for the booking with my card.  Haven Restaurant is consistently very good.  And, given you can order from the MDR menus also, good variety.

 

Drinks are strong and the service is good.  What more can you want?

 

Celebrity faves?  Tuscan Grille (one of the MDRs so no extra charge) and Blu (included with the Sky and Aqua Cabins).  Luminae is fine.  Except, their dinner choices are a bit funky for my tastes.  I'm sure they are  "haute cuisine"  type choices. Those just aren't my "thing".

Do you book through AMEX?

[Oakman58]

On 3/11/2024 at 12:57 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

I have done one Princess sailing since the restart and it was the worst cruise (in terms of onboard experience) I have ever been on. I have been assured that the service and food quality issues we experienced on that sailing are atypical of Princess, but the ship/cabin issues would be the same on all sailings until the Sun Princess and Star Princess come out with their new cabin configurations, since all of the existing ships have the exact same cabin layout. I hope you have a better experience than we did!

 

For our first cruise with Princess, we did a 16 day Hawaiian cruise roundtrip from San Diego in Jan 2023 on the Diamond Princess.  There were 4 of us and we all agreed it was the worst cruise we’ve ever been on, and we would never cruise Princess again.

 

Our cabin like yours was the smallest we’ve ever had with just one chair to sit on and no couch.  Our balcony was flooded for the first two day and yet it hadn’t rained.  They finally solved the problem but never told us where the water was coming from. 

 

We had dinner reservations at two specialty restaurants but they were cancelled.  We rescheduled but those reservations were cancelled too.  They said it was due to a staff shortage.

 

We had a lot of sea days on that cruise and the daytime activities sucked, with lectures, choir practice, etc.  Nighttime activities weren’t much better.  Musical entertainment was mostly easy listening or ballroom dance type.  With the exception of one 50’s night, there was no rock and roll, no disco, no R&B, etc.

 

Food was just average at best, and I actually laughed out loud at breakfast one morning when they offered what they called French Toast.  It looked like a hamburger bun, but the hilarious part was it was topped with crushed up Fruit Loops.

 

Another laugh was their chili dog offering on the Lido Deck.

 

Tendering in Maui was an absolute cluster, and we would have missed our shore excursion had our tour operator not waited a half hour for late passengers.  Returning to the ship was another huge cluster.

 

In my opinion, the only thing Princess has going for it is the Medallion, that worked perfectly for us.

[graphicguy]

3 hours ago, Jenjohncourt said:

Do you book through AMEX?

Nope.  I use my AMEX to pay for the cruise.  I book through a TA!

[Jenjohncourt]

11 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Nope.  I use my AMEX to pay for the cruise.  I book through a TA!

That’s awesome. I thought you had to go through AMEX to get that perk. 

[graphicguy]

42 minutes ago, Jenjohncourt said:

That’s awesome. I thought you had to go through AMEX to get that perk. 

Nope.

 

Not sure how it works, but I've heard some TAs don't work with AMEX (Platinum) to offer the perk.  But, mine does.  I know booking through NCL direct, they don't offer the AMEX perk, either.

 

[JamieLogical]

Well, we finally booked a cruise for May and the winner is....

 

 

Drumroll, please....

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Enchanted Princes out of FLL! I am as surprised as anyone else that we decided to give Princess another shot after having sworn it off back in January 2023. Our Christmas/New Years Panama Canal sailing on the Emerald Princes was (and still is) the worst cruise we have ever been on. But the combination of a casino offer, a chance to go to Belize, a newer ship, and upgrading to a Mini-suite for less per day than a balcony on the Joy that same week was enough to convince us to give it a shot.

[vacation44]

37 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Well, we finally booked a cruise for May and the winner is....

 

 

Drumroll, please....

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Enchanted Princes out of FLL! I am as surprised as anyone else that we decided to give Princess another shot after having sworn it off back in January 2023. Our Christmas/New Years Panama Canal sailing on the Emerald Princes was (and still is) the worst cruise we have ever been on. But the combination of a casino offer, a chance to go to Belize, a newer ship, and upgrading to a Mini-suite for less per day than a balcony on the Joy that same week was enough to convince us to give it a shot.

Wow, did not see that coming!

 

Have a great cruise and I will be definitely following your report. 

[ontheweb]

1 hour ago, JamieLogical said:

Well, we finally booked a cruise for May and the winner is....

 

 

Drumroll, please....

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Enchanted Princes out of FLL! I am as surprised as anyone else that we decided to give Princess another shot after having sworn it off back in January 2023. Our Christmas/New Years Panama Canal sailing on the Emerald Princes was (and still is) the worst cruise we have ever been on. But the combination of a casino offer, a chance to go to Belize, a newer ship, and upgrading to a Mini-suite for less per day than a balcony on the Joy that same week was enough to convince us to give it a shot.

Things like that happen. Our first NCL cruise (NY to Bermuda) was on the Crown. It was not really set up for freestyle. Lots of small things wrong, especially the crew did not seem to really care. Our second was on the Epic (Western Europe), and it was just much too large. I really had no desire to sail NCL again.

 

And then we received in the mail a flyer from NCL and fell in love with an itinerary, And in 2021 booked a cruise on the not yet built Prima, London (Southampton) to Reykjavik. And despite 2 of the ports not happening, we really loved the ship and the cruise.

[Jenjohncourt]

22 hours ago, graphicguy said:

Nope.

 

Not sure how it works, but I've heard some TAs don't work with AMEX (Platinum) to offer the perk.  But, mine does.  I know booking through NCL direct, they don't offer the AMEX perk, either.

 

Thanks so much. I will have to ask our travel agent next time. We have booked through AMEX in the past to receive that perk but didn’t do it for the last few times for various reasons. 

[BrianLo]

On 2/29/2024 at 8:04 PM, Smitheroo said:

I sure would like to know what people miss so much about no more "turn down service"  Ok, I get the towel animals. They're cute. But people are upset because someone doesnt come into their cabin before bed and turn down the covers? (I'm assuming that's what it is)  Seriously?   

I don’t miss the turn down itself personally. But what I have found is that the quality of the whole housekeeping has declined because your room stewards room load is doubled.

 

I mean it is probably steward dependent, but my worst experience was on Quantum, we happened to be the Australian bubble cruise where the once a day was trialed, before NCL or RCL officiated. My poor steward seemed overwhelmed and basically couldn’t get to my room until 1630. I sent him away one time because I just didn’t feel like leaving pre dinner and the poor guy was so concerned that I wouldn’t have anything since his shift was ending.

 

I largely find now you get your room cleaned based on the order they do cabins. Putting your ‘clean my room now’ sign is meaningless, it will literally go ignored for up to 8 hours if you are towards the back of their load.

 

it was a breath of fresh air on the Celebrity Edge recently to have the double service and the room steward who would see us leave for breakfast and go in and out like a ninja.

 

I mean, you do eventually learn when you are due, and right now I’ve learned my time is about 2PM on my current cruise. Didn’t matter that my you can clean my room now thing was flagged at 4am (literally).

[UKstages]

1 minute ago, BrianLo said:

I largely find now you get your room cleaned based on the order they do cabins. Putting your ‘clean my room now’ sign is meaningless, it will literally go ignored for up to 8 hours if you are towards the back of their load.

 

my experience has been that cabin attendants very quickly learn the schedules of their guests and adjust their rounds accordingly, so they accommodate guests whenever they can.