Keith B.

On 3/9/2021 at 8:21 PM, JamieLogical said:

 

Far fewer than 1 in 100 car trips result in an accident. Probably fewer than 1 in 100 car accidents result in a fatality...

Not all cars on the road have accidents.  Just as all people do not get Covid.  So your question about Skittles assumes I have Covid. 1.5 in 100 cases of Covid result in death. What if I am one of the 300,000,000 that have do not gotten Covid?  I think that brings it down substantially.  Something like .0015 in 320,000,000.  Then it is a question if I even like Skittles.  LOL.  Now throw in the Vacine into the calculation.  I have had both shots.  

While the news regarding the impact the vaccine is having and the lightening of the rules showed promise that I will not have a 5th cruise cancelled it does give me pause.

Not to get to political but...  Florida has the most cruise ports in the nation.  Do you believe the Biden administration will do anything that will help the state's economy?  A state which has weathered this pandemic better than most states while having the largest susceptibile population and for all intents and purposes remained open the entire time.  And it has a Republican Governor.  

The dollars that will pour into Florida,  the number of people who will be able to return to work in the hotels and restaurants, etc. are not things that will reflect well on the democrats.

Oh how I hope I am wrong and the CDC will make scientific rather than political decisions.

Thank You zqvol.  Our experience is just the opposite.  We spend a vast majority of our time in our stateroom which is why we opt for a suite  We rarely do excursions.  As I say "Put the ship in the middle of the ocean, drop the anchor and leave it there until we have to go back".  We enjoy dining in the variety of restaurants, comedy shows the occasional showroom show and a slow romantic stroll around the deck at night.

I want nothing to do with crowds, kids, telephones, noise, cleaning, computers, employees, internet, etc. No hairiest chest or any other contest, no swimming, no partying till 5AM, no casino bells or smoke.  You get the idea.  Sleeping, relaxing, reading and listening to easy music and eating.  If I need or want something I ring the butler and he is there in a heartbeat.

Trimone so now we know they get a SALARY and GRATUITIES between $2400 - $3200 DEPENDING ON the cruise line.

Thanks for the information.

Let me take this one at a time.  sverigecruiser:  I misread your response.  I thought you were asking which cruise line.  NCL simply states the butlers do not share in the daily gratuities we all pay.  As for other compensation i.e. salary that I was told on a response a couple of years ago they receive none.

Now I get a response here which states the butler, in fact, DOES receive a salary of $1K USD.  This is now opening pandora's  proverbial box.  I should have just kept my mouth shut.  Sorry folks.

Now last. Oteixeira:  Whether they get paid a salary or not is of no importance to me.  I give them what I believed was in line with what others are giving the butlers.  If thy are good I give more and if they are not I give them less.  

I just wanted to be sure my assumptions were correct.

Thanks all for your comments.

HAPPY CRUISING!!

Complawyer I wouldn't feel "cheap".  That is if it is for a couple.  If you are talking a suite with a family it would be at the low end but certainly not cheap.  Now you understand my confusion and concern.  It may also depend on the level of suite.  A Garden Villa vs Deluxe Owners Suite vs Penthouse.

Thank you, rjm.  Then I am in a similar range although there are only two of us.  As a side note regarding the concierge, we use his/her services rarely although on a recent cruise the concierge had been our butler on an earlier cruise and he took exceptional care of us.  Within a short time of arriving in our suite the butler knocked at the door with additional "treats" curtesy of the concierge.  He had been instructed by the concierge what and how we were to be treated. LOL

10 minutes ago, ColeThornton said:

 

I doubt that the answers you get this time will be any different than the answers you have previously received.

 

 

What leads you to believe they don't get any salary?

Norwegian Cruise Line

I ask this question each time we time we sail on Norwegian and someday hopefully someone will give me a straight answer.  What do you tip the butler?

Yes, it all depends what he/she does to earn it but there must be some base that people use.  I just do not know what that is, flat fee? $5 per day? $10? a % of the fare?  These people do not receive any compensation except what tips they receive.  No pay, no portion of the daily gratuities no anything except tips.  I have no idea how many suites for which they are responsible.

We have had suites on 7 Norwegian cruises and I have no idea if I am tipping fairly for the wonderful service and attention we receive. 

I know if I go into a restaurant the standard is 20% and fluctuates from there depending on service.  Any assistance, guidance or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.  We are booked for a cruise in May '21 after having to cancel cruises last May and this month and praying we do not have to cancel again.

I really like Crème Brule. My waiter brought me one each night and I never even asked, even when it wasn't on the menu. Then

I would order my desert. LOL  People order Appetizers meal size or meal size as appetizers.  The only question is availability.

On 7/11/2019 at 12:21 PM, jrobertson82 said:

I cruised once, on Princess about 15 years ago. Havn't been since.

Just booked spring break cruise for me and my 2 teenage kids on the Vista. Couple questions..

 

1. Going to buy drink packages, is there any benefit to buying now or waiting? Do they offer sales periodically? same question for internet package.

2. FTTF says sold out. Any chance if I keep checking that it will become available? Or does it really sell out that early?

3. It says online checkin available on Dec 22 already, am I more likely to get time slot I want if I get online immediately that day? Ideally, I want to get to the port early and be on the boat as early as possible so I can get settled in. I dislike lines.... any advice anyone has on best way to streamline boarding the ship would be appreciated.

4. Is the social wifi package usable? My kids want to be able to post picture on instagram and facebook and what not.

5. It says that drink package (adult version) wont start until day 2 when sailing from galveston, can I still buy drinks outside of the package on day 1?

I don't know if Carnival has gotten their act together for embarkation day on the Vista but... Priority boarding order is

1. Platinum/Diamond; 2. Suite 3. Handicap 4. FTTF.  Normally there is a separate VIP area for Platinum/ Diamond and Suite guests. On our cruise (we were Platinum AND Suite) we were informed the VIP Lounge was not available and we were put on a line consisting of all (1, 2,3 & 4) with no preferable treatment.  I talked to a Diamond couple (58th Carnival cruise) and they were no happy "campers".

Bottom line is "Good Luck" with streamlining the boarding process.

Thank you for your response njhorseman.  The change may be attributable to the mega ship (Breakaway and in my case Vista) and the sheer number of passengers and accompanied luggage that would be clogging up the sidewalk at the terminal.  Maybe with the Sunshine in September they may allow pick-ups also.  I can only hope.

It has been a year and a half since cruising out of NYC.  On all our previous cruises out of NYC (9) the taxi drove up the ramp and dropped us and picked us up right at the "door" but in November the drop off was the same but we had to lug our luggage (actually I paid a port with a wagon) across 12th Avenue to catch a cab.  We are again going out of NYC this year.  Does anyone know what the arrangements are now for taxi drop off / pickup? We are another 1 1/2 year older and just need to be prepared.

We have cruised out of New York 8 times in the past 6 years (last was Nov 2014) and have simply walked out of the terminal, gotten on line and waited to get a cab. We will again cruise out of NYC in July and November this year. Not sure my physical restriction will enable me to handle this change.

MarlboroBell, You are saying hundreds if not thousands of people have to walk across 12th Ave. to catch a cab or to be picked up? We no longer get the cab upstairs?

\It has been noted on here that Cagney's has not been available for pre-reservations, so I would make those (if it continues) right when you board the ship.

We were able to make reservation at Cagney's on-line. That may be because we are in a suite. It wouldn't hurt to try and make the reservations. What can they do ...cancel your cruise? All they can do is tell you "no". :)

Go to "suite perks" thread started by smokie 36 on this same page. It has a couple of very detailed lists. The most updated is toward the end of the thread.

I read in another thread that ties are required in Cagney's? What about the other specialty dining rooms? What about jackets? I have my tux cleaned and pressed for formal nights but I hadn't planned on tie and jacket the other nights. NCL site says "Resort Casual".

Then use the junk mail block feature and ignore. It's your personal decision not to use it and opened the email.

You Obviously miss my point. I admit I'm overly sensitive on the subject of my mother. I read the subject and was not happy - to late to "Junk Mail" bin it.

I receive e-mails from NCL every day and some I enjoy and some I don't. This one I found distasteful and insensitive. There are other ways to approach Mother's Day advertisements. To say "Your Mother called... OK that is off my chest and I will not bother you folks again. I'm busy packing for my NCL Dawn cruise in 19 days.

The e-mail didn't bother me at all. After all, Mothers Day is around the corner. Every company out there has mom commercials. It's just marketing to me. I actually think its a good campaign. Maybe my kids would get the hint. That is if they got NCL emails.

I can ignore a commercial on TV or skip over an ad in a magazine which is not directed at me personally but my e-mail box is personal I was not a happy cruiser with that e-mail.

Like "CruiseScrooge" I also found that email to be darkly amusing as my Mom also is dead. Also, I'm sure that if she wants a vacation, she'd prefer Las Vegas to a cruise.

 

Given the average age of people who cruise, you'd figure that the NCL staff in marketing would realize that "your Mom called" might not be the best slogan for a cruise promotion. With Mother's Day approaching this campaign could be a little hard to take for people whose mother recently died. This is just my opinion.

I admit I am a bit sensitive but I found the e-mail distasteful. I am not a young man as a matter of fact I'm a Great grandfather but my mom passed away two years ago next week an I hit a downer when I got the e-mail.

Most people traveling from Orlando for a cruise are sailing from Port Canaveral which is a 45 mile drive. Perhaps that was what the posters who said 35 were thinking. Cruises from Ft Lau. and Miami ususally fly into Ft Lau. or Miami NOT Orlando.