NCL rules

[farniente]

Cruised Hawaii via NCL Pride of America inter-island route. We tried to bring a couple of bottles of wine aboard, but our luggage was scanned and the 'contraband' seized for 'safety' reasons. However we were allowed to ransom the wine for $15 each. We were not told about the no-booze policy by the on-line cruise agent. They did not provide any information, just email tickets. Would not use them again. Don't attempt to take booze aboard NCL, as they scan all luggage.

Land excursions were very expensive, so we rented a car on Maui and Kauai with friends. Much cheaper and you can go exactly where you want. Just walk off the ship and rental vans will be waiting. No reservations necessary, but check more than one as prices vary widely.

We have decided NCL's flat 'tip' fee of $10 per day per passenger instead of voluntary tips works against good service. The help was mediocre as there is no incentive to work very hard to please the passengers.

[smeyer418]

Cruised Hawaii via NCL Pride of America inter-island route. We tried to bring a couple of bottles of wine aboard, but our luggage was scanned and the 'contraband' seized for 'safety' reasons. However we were allowed to ransom the wine for $15 each. We were not told about the no-booze policy by the on-line cruise agent. They did not provide any information, just email tickets. Would not use them again. Don't attempt to take booze aboard NCL, as they scan all luggage.

Land excursions were very expensive, so we rented a car on Maui and Kauai with friends. Much cheaper and you can go exactly where you want. Just walk off the ship and rental vans will be waiting. No reservations necessary, but check more than one as prices vary widely.

We have decided NCL's flat 'tip' fee of $10 per day per passenger instead of voluntary tips works against good service. The help was mediocre as there is no incentive to work very hard to please the passengers.

 

welcome to cruise critic. If you had gone on this site before you went you would have known about the policy. NCL actually says no booze can be brought.I doubt that cruise direct mislead you only didn't affirmatively tell you. If you look at your cruise contract it does say no booze.

 

Land excursions on almost all cruise lines are expensive so this is nothing unusual for NCL(which by the way generally marks them up reasonably but some are outrageous)...

 

can you give some specific examples of mediocrity. The $10 service charge is not a tip but it is used to pay for employee vacations etc....which you also would have found out if you visited here first...good luck...

 

oh BTW how did you overall enjoy the cruise you never said above

[KeystoneCruiser]

The wine policy is standard on NCL and has been for years. There are probably more threads devoted to this than any other topic on here!

 

Be careful telling people not to make car reservations ahead of time in the ports. While the rental car idea is a great one, (did it myself in Maui), cruisers should make reservations ahead of time for two reasons: 1.) get a better deal and 2.) if the port is especially busy that day, no cars may be available! (and there is not much to do around the port area in Hilo and Kauai!

 

Also, remember that on the "Pride" ships, the crew must be majority American and,has been reported many times on here, Americans just don't seem to want to work as hard as the international crew. I'm not sure the tip amount has anything to do with it. (I heard some great stories from the Maitre'd's on the Dawn this summer about when some of the American crew was onboard for training. They were always loafing was what we heard!)

[mikedw]

The majority of cruise lines add the tip onto your account automatically now. I think except for a few of the higher end ones, the days of envelopes are over. Also, that is just a start, if you receive good service you can also tip people directly over and above the 10.00 dollars a day. I think I read that the cruise lines went to automatic tipping because unfortunately, you have a lot of people that left nothing. Please give more details about the service, it's been my experience when talking to clients that two couples can be on a cruise together and have the same waiters and room steward, one will say it wasn't that great and the other will rave how great they were. Everyone experiences things differently.

 

Take care,

 

Michael

[iwishu]

Farniente,

I was on Pride of America this month also. Maybe we were on the same cruise date 1/13-20/07. I knew about the no booze requirement when I booked my cruise by reading the literature from NCL. I did get two plastic bottles of whiskey through anyway. They were in hard case luggage. Land excursions are expensive as they are in all ports and all cruise lines I have been on domestically and foreign. These were not higher than other places I have visited. The Polynesian Cultural Center cost was expensive ($126) for example, but was well worth it since it was most of the day and evening, a luau with meal and great entertainment. I did rent autos in Hilo, Kauai, Kona, and Honolulu when I returned which cut down expenses. We took 4 excursions on the trip and 2 of those were in Honolulu the day before the cruise. I reserved the cars from the ship the night before by cell phone call to the auto agency 1-800 numbers

I knew about the $10 daily service charge per person beforehand and feel that is okay. I left my cabin steward a nominal extra $20 on leaving. smeyer 418, NCL does call the $10 daily service fee a gratuity in the literature to me. I also tipped beverage waiters and waiters in the restaurants which charge. I also tipped excursion bus drivers.

As far as service was concerned, on this voyage, service was excellent from the steward, to housekeepers, and waiter...as good as I have had from foreign flagged ships. I have not had better. Obviously, other passengers were not so lucky. I expected the worse with an all American crew, but found the best. They were nice to us maybe because we were nice to them.

[newmexicoNita]

I really don't think it was the responsibility of the agent to let you know. Did you ask for or get a brochure, did you read the docs when they arrived? I am not trying to pick on you, but more and more lines are saying: no booze of any kind allowed. RCI and Celebrity are only allowing 2 bottles of wine period, with or without corkage fees.

 

As for the $10 a day tip, HAL, NCL, Carnival and Princesss all have the same policy. Disney charges the tips prior to sailing. Only RCI and Celebrity haven't gone to the auto $10 per day plus extra for really good service.

 

Shroe excursion: always more expensive if booked through the cruise line. We book privately; we get better service, more individualize care and smaller gorups as well as saving up to 1/2.

 

An outstanding agent will tell you all this: an average one may not and does not have to feel obligations to fill you in.

 

Too bad you didn't find this board sooner. Nothing that bothered you was the fault of NCL or should have affected your cruise. I am inclined to think this may have been your first cruise? Am I right? NMNita

[megessey]

I get this itch in the back of my neck that tells me we'll never hear from the OP ever again :rolleyes:

[smeyer418]

...I left my cabin steward a nominal extra $20 on leaving. smeyer 418, NCL does call the $10 daily service fee a gratuity in the literature to me. I also tipped beverage waiters and waiters in the restaurants which charge. I also tipped excursion bus drivers.

As far as service was concerned, on this voyage, service was excellent from the steward, to housekeepers, and waiter...as good as I have had from foreign flagged ships. I have not had better. Obviously, other passengers were not so lucky. I expected the worse with an all American crew, but found the best. They were nice to us maybe because we were nice to them.

 

In going to the "new website NCL no longer differentiates between NCL and NCL America. It is called a service fee on both but because the crews are paid differently,-NCL America gets higher base pay and overtime the service fee is used to fund vacation and other time off and tipping is not required...on NCL without America the regular daily charge is for tipping and is split among the crew. The difference is really rather small and I like you tip extra where I think it is appropriate. I never thought however that the $10.00 fee effects how the crew treats me....which is my point more than whether the amount is used for vacations or for tips....

[tazj]

for future reference

NCL Rules.... indicates it the best. Sorry to point that out, but it was misleading..

Happy cruising :)

[Don Haynes]

You did ransom your wine, paid the corkage fee. Unfortunately you should have visited this site or the NCL website before the cruise, or have done more research including reading the fine print in your documents whether by snail mail or by email.

 

The no booze policy has been around for years. The corkage fee for wine has been around for years. Do you expect your favorite bar or restaurant at home will allow you to bring in booze?

 

Obviously this must have been your first cruise. Chalk up your experience as a lesson. Did you enjoy the rest of your cruise, the shore excursions you enjoyed, the entertainmnet aboard, and the dinners you ate?

[KeystoneCruiser]

Farniente,

I was on Pride of America this month also. Maybe we were on the same cruise date 1/13-20/07. I knew about the no booze requirement when I booked my cruise by reading the literature from NCL. I did get two plastic bottles of whiskey through anyway. They were in hard case luggage. Land excursions are expensive as they are in all ports and all cruise lines I have been on domestically and foreign. These were not higher than other places I have visited. The Polynesian Cultural Center cost was expensive ($126) for example, but was well worth it since it was most of the day and evening, a luau with meal and great entertainment. I did rent autos in Hilo, Kauai, Kona, and Honolulu when I returned which cut down expenses. We took 4 excursions on the trip and 2 of those were in Honolulu the day before the cruise. I reserved the cars from the ship the night before by cell phone call to the auto agency 1-800 numbers

I knew about the $10 daily service charge per person beforehand and feel that is okay. I left my cabin steward a nominal extra $20 on leaving. smeyer 418, NCL does call the $10 daily service fee a gratuity in the literature to me. I also tipped beverage waiters and waiters in the restaurants which charge. I also tipped excursion bus drivers.

As far as service was concerned, on this voyage, service was excellent from the steward, to housekeepers, and waiter...as good as I have had from foreign flagged ships. I have not had better. Obviously, other passengers were not so lucky. I expected the worse with an all American crew, but found the best. They were nice to us maybe because we were nice to them.

 

 

Iwishu: Welcome to Cruise Critic and thank you for that fair and honest review! (too many times on this board I think we forget to thank those that give us fair reviews, good or bad.)

 

I too enjoyed the Polynesian Cultural Center. It is an excellent, interesting and very educational place to visit on Oahu!

[Holg]

Do you expect your favorite bar or restaurant at home will allow you to bring in booze?

 

That nails it on the head.

 

It has nothing to do with safety, everything to do with money.

[megessey]

for future reference

NCL Rules.... indicates it the best. Sorry to point that out, but it was misleading..

Happy cruising :)

 

You make a good point, however I think the official indication of "rules" being used as a verb is either --

 

a) the use of at least two exclamation points: "NCL Rules!!"

 

b) bastardizing the spelling, such as: "NCL Rulz" or "Roolz"

 

c) the coupling of a rockin' emoticon: "NCL Rules "

 

Otherwise one must assume that intended usage of the word rules is a noun. Hoping that helps :p

[hotspur]

That nails it on the head.

 

It has nothing to do with safety, everything to do with money.

I think you missed Don Haynes's point completely. His point has to do with proper behavior, not money. Seems like people who wouldn't think of carrying a bottle of booze into their favorite neighborhood restaurant or bar will hurry to come here and complain when they can't do the same in a ship's restaurant.

[Arwenmark]

for future reference

NCL Rules.... indicates it the best. Sorry to point that out, but it was misleading..

Happy cruising :)

 

Only if you speak in Slang, My first assumption was that it was in refference to Rules of NCL.

[BML]

All the more reason to support your local travel agent community. They do not charge more than online agencies and can offer you advice and customer service!

[tazj]

Ok...chalk this up to a sick mind, literally, trying to get over the flu to make my cruise next week, I totally missed the word in its context, and not for a lack of trying. After 11 years on the net and irc, everything is 'slang'.

 

I kept trying to see what was positive in the post. Thanks for the clarification :)

[beachchick]

 

Be careful telling people not to make car reservations ahead of time in the ports. While the rental car idea is a great one, (did it myself in Maui), cruisers should make reservations ahead of time for two reasons: 1.) get a better deal and 2.) if the port is especially busy that day, no cars may be available! (and there is not much to do around the port area in Hilo and Kauai!

 

 

Thanks, KeystoneCruiser. Exactly what I was thinking. The next thing we'd hear is that "there were no cars available to rent when we got off the ship, and posters here said there would be." In fact, members here have reported from time to time that all cars were sold out, especially at the smaller ports such as Hilo.

 

In Hawaii, don't take the chance that you'll be able to rent a car last minute. Keep in mind that cruise pax are competing with the thousands of land visitors who are on each Hawaiian island every day, all year long. IMO, it's better to rent in advance (online where you don't have to give a CC#) and then cancel later if you decide you don't need the car. We did that for our Maui PoH stop. Also, once you've reserved, keep checking prices. I've cancelled and rebooked several times on numerous trips to Hawaii and elsewhere because the prices fluctuate so much. Our last trip, a week's rental on Maui started at $250, by the time we left, I had gotten that price down to $120. Kind of a significant savings and well worth the few minutes it takes to check from time to time. Come to think of it, there have been times when I've been re-checking prices that several companies have shown pretty much every car class as "sold out," so I can also confirm that it does happen. (iwishu: It's absolutely terrific that you were able to rent last minute like that. However, that is not always the case.)

 

Regarding the automatic service fee, we had exactly the opposite experience on PoH in December. With a few exceptions (like on all ships), the crew members were hard working, pleasant, and professional. In fact, we were pleasantly surprised.:)

 

beachchick