Run14

Like Bird said, don't get your hopes up too high. That said, last year they shifted it just as a cruise we were looking at dropped in price slightly. The two benefits added up and convinced us to bump up our cabin. Now that I think of it, they probably made more money off of us...

This has turned into a really interesting discussion, and I think that I have a few things that I can add. In general, all staff do genuinely want to help you have a great vacation and there seem to be a lot of processes in place to incentivize that within NCL. With that said, they want to make sure a few people are exceptionally well taken care of. Everyone is valued, but they absolutely still maintain a VIP list. Some examples that I've seen personally are Large shareholders (think 250,000+ shares) Travel Agents with exceptionally high numbers "Friend of X" where X is a C-level executive at NCL or NCLH Top-ish tiers of the Latitudes program I've seen nightly visits during dinner from the GM (like nearly every night he happened to check-in), dinner with the GM at a reserved table at a show, drinks sent to the table from senior officers with hilarious notes, gifts to the room, and more. In one amazing example, the GM found out a guest that he was taking care of had a champagne saber in the naughty/security room (very clearly labelled "KNIFE" despite being flat/dull, but understandable). He had the saber liberated, brought it to dinner with a bottle of Veuve, and sabered the bottle to celebrate with the guest. Picture taken, memories made, and a lifeline cruiser cemented. Last thing - snapping picture of nametags has become something of a game for my wife and I. We always try to fill out a bunch of hero cards because, like others have said, we've learned that they're really important. Most staff members know what you're doing if they catch you, and they're generally quite happy about it IME.

A few quick notes to add in case anyone is interested (I was before I experienced them) - - If you have a butler, sometimes they'll go to the naughty room for you (but as others have said, sometimes you meet wonderful people there, so keep that in mind) - Champagne sabers will get you an introduction to the less fun officer in the security room, even if you disclose it (MANY TIMES) before/as you board. It was all fine, but a bit of hassle, and they hold onto it and you get it back as you exit the ship (literally as you walk off, not the last night or something) - I've noticed that staff and especially beverage managers are always happy to prepare and serve wine you bring onboard. They don't get a lot of training on wines they don't keep aboard, so it's usually fun for them. If you're into wine, it's lead to many great experiences for us.

If you're buying the stock for the first time, instead of waiting for a monthly statement just send them the trade confirmation. They'll happily take that and it's got everything they'll need on it (just black out the account number). I've never had to wait more than a day or two, and if I submit it during biz hours I usually have it back within a few hours.