MrMike45

Have only been on 7 day trips on Breakaway, but I always thought the Vibe was a set price for passes for the entire cruise and not a per day price?

Hi Everyone,

We just got back from he 7 day Mexican Riviera Cruise on he Jewell. It was a little different than I expected. So here are some things you might want to consider.

1. If you have lots of tattoos ..... you might like NCL

2. If you want to sit around and drink all day long at the pool with ....you might like NCL.

3. If you don't care about great food....you might like NCL. (To be fair the buffets had some good food, but for fancy dinners the food is awful.)

4. If you are in Risk Management and seeing kids running amok in he pool area and spa with parents lounging with drinks...you might hate NCL.

5. If you like an all inclusive ... you might hate NCL...unless you pre buy all sorts of plans.

6. If you hate being nickle and dimed, you will hate NCL.

7. If you are looking for a really laid back relaxed non pretentious time...you might like NCL.

8. The Jewell is small for a cruise ship...but really big enough.

9. The water slide is for kids. Slow, but I loved that as my kids are afraid of fast ones.

10. You don't mind your kids.....mine hated the kids program Splash academy...so they hung out with us for most of the cruise (8 and 10.)

11. If you like music.....you might like NCL. At least on Jewell there was a lot of music - ironically not Salsa or flamenco in Mexico but what ever...It was nice. Not in morning, but started afternoon and all night.

12. If you are not too uptight about cabin.......you might love NCL. (Our cabin was not always cleaned up well, only received towel animals half the time, bunk bed was not pulled down most of the time...same with my mom in other cabin.)

13. If you love to dance at night....and DONT get seasick... you might like the NCL. The main dance floor is on 13th floor in he very front...so if you are prone to sea sickness is awful.

14. Kids are okay everywhere! That is generally a good thing. Most kids where well behaved. I liked being able to bring them most places. I was bummed so many events thought were 13 and up for adult content. - So lastly. I thought there was way too much sexual innuendo - even in he kid friendly comedy shows and acts. Seriously...???

15. If you never want to dress up and want to wear shorts and t-shirts the whole time ...you found your cruise line! (Although there is opportunity to dress up if you want.)

I discovered I am more of a Princess sort of girl. I fully admit I can be sort of uptight. However, I had a great time. The first two days I was like get me off, but then I settled in. The ship was so dated! The people were .... well too casual lets say for me... It is sort of a what happens on the Jewell stays on the Jewell. There were surely really elegant couples who were super "classy", but you only saw them slow dancing piano or jazz music. I never saw them in he buffet! There are several paid for restaurants which is probably where "those types" ate. But there were all types of people. Classy to ghetto - thought mostly somewhere in between. I won't say I would never take NCL again, I might. But next time I want to try another line.

P.S. I am 40 and from Southern California, married, with 2 kids.

Lost all credit-ability after point #1. Apparently liking/having tattoos makes you "those types"

MrMike45,

let me give you a few examples of what a "comp" may be. 1st class tickets for 2 to the cruise port, full suite on board. Front row center tickets to any concert you want, either in the casino or in town. Garth Brooks, Carrie Underwood, etc with either a meet & greet or backstage, your preference. 1st class for 2 to Chicago with hotel suite, front row center for Barbara Streisand because my host was smart enough to ask my partner what other artists did I like, had her boss on his personal trip to Hawaii to pick up a couple of Hawaiian shirts for me, bought me a solid gold bracelet that she thought I might like ($3k). Does this kinda give you an idea of what a "comp" could be?

Let me know the next time Garth Brooks or Carrie Underwood are on the Pearl and I'll be sure to book that cruise.

The comps you are referring to are all Vegas hotel comps. And all common...in Vegas. None of that is happening on a cruise ship, sorry to burst your bubble.

Stick with Vegas if you want that stuff.

***edit*** Depending on your level of play, you do get a black car to/from the cruise port. Neither you nor I are that level. And getting a haven/suite room comped is again something they do offer, but the room comps are based on consistent play/cruising. Not 1 cruise with a big loss.

MrMike45, sure I could afford the shave or whatever spa deal I wanted. What I expected was something called "comps". This is something the casino hosts give you to show their appreciation and love. I'm sure, MrMike45, if you keep playing in the casino some time in the future you will learn what a "comp" is. If not please message me back and I'll try to explain further what a "comp" is.

Actually LRN, both I and my wife spend plenty of time in the casinos (both on cruises and land based) and are well aware of what comps are. So no need to explain that to me, but thank you for the offer. What I'm not though is a bragger, a complainer or a whiner thinking people should be fired over something like this, or cheap.

We have been on 15 or so cruises, first being in 2011. Everyone one of them, except for the first obviously, we have been either fully or partially comped for an Oceanview, Balcony or Mini-Suite room. Assuming (maybe incorrectly?), this was not your first cruise, I am quite sure you were comped for your room as well. Paying a fraction of what it would have cost if you called NCL directly to book as a non-casino member. Thousands of dollars in comps.

Additionally, the casino used to give you 2 free dinners, now it is $100-250 in OBC per person. Hundreds of dollars in comps.

Even more additionally, you get a drink card where you can drink for free in the casino. Obviously, the drink package being a perk has diminished this comp somewhat, but you can also get free bottles of water, something that the drink package doesn't even cover. A few hundred dollars more in comps.

Finally, we get treats sent to our room regularly from the casino during our cruises. Choc covered strawberries, plate of chocolates, bottles of wine/champagne, etc. Small but again, more comps.

So adding all that in, the casino has taken care of you a great deal. And all of those perks are irrelevant if you win or lose $10k or more.

They also give points for your play, which you can redeem as OBC against your stateroom account. Yes, as skeeter pointed out, these aren't the greatest things in the world...but with $10k loss, you probably accumulated a solid amount of points, definitely enough for your shave.

So all these thousands of dollars in comps you have already received...because the staff on the ship didn't give you even more...despite your very boastful $10k loss, they should all be fired and barred from ever working in casino services again. And taking to your complaints to cruise critics forum to whine about even more after the cruise was certainly the best way to handle it.

I don't know how people work in customer service and deal with people like you on a daily basis. They are certainly more patient than I could ever be.

Just got off NCL Pearl 8 day Alaska cruise. I only lost $10k so they would NOT comp me a $95 facial/shave. They said I didn't have enough play. They did upgrade my player's card though. YEAH!!!!! I guess now you must play around $20k for such a valuable a comp. These jerks convinced me that I shouldn't cruise NCL again. NCL passed out "vacation hero" comment cards to of course tell them about the crew member that went above and beyond.

 

I said my hero was any member of the crew other than the casino hosts. I'm not normally an ******* about bad service but this is a case of all of them should be fired and barred from any type of casino job or in any type of hospitality position.

You gambled/lost $10,000 and you're disappointed you had to pay $95 for a shave? Furthermore...if you played $10k, you would have accumulated alot of points. Points which, on the last day of the cruise, when you go to casino guest services, they transfer into OBC against your stateroom bill....and I'm sure that would have been enough to cover the $95.

Yeah I didn't figure they'd pester me, I just enjoy getting comps and didn't want them to end. I'm wondering whether I'll be fine just avoiding it in August then coming back guns blazing in November. I had a really bad experience in Vegas at the World Series of Poker that makes me want to get my table gaming in check. I've been a part-time sports better/handicapper for the past 10 years and have been a solid poker player as well. On July 5, I ran my 2K buyin up to 207K playing roulette and only cashed out for 10k so I've just been pretty sick about it since then and the thought of table games just makes me want to throw up. Hopefully I'm up big on football season by November and I'll be over the foolishness but I'm not sure.

That might actually work in your favor. Not sure what cruise line you're going on...but on NCL, definitely rack up more points playing slots than table games. Can sit at slots, get free drinks, and avoid the tables altogether. Playing for a few hours here and there should give you a solid amount of points to keep your comps in place. Atleast it shows "activity and play" during the cruise

What would happen if a person was on a free/discounted cruise from the casino and didn't gamble? Would that person's offers never appear again regardless of play on another cruise? I'm going with my sister on her comped cruise in August and I also have another cruise comped in November. I don't really feel like playing heavy in August and may not feel like it in November. However, I'm certainly not retired from casino gaming, I've just got burnt out a bit and want to take it easy for a few months other than sports betting.

My assumption is that future comps/discounts would be significantly less, if anything at all. They are comping you for a cruise based on past gambling play. If you don't gamble on those 2 cruises, the next time you call for a comp, they will see that your play dropped...and your comps will as well. But it's not like someone is going to knock on your cabin door and say, "hey, the casino comped you this cruise...get your butt down to the casino and spend some money or we're going to add charges to your bill" lol.

thanks again all...much appreciated

Thank you Maryann!

Check out Toms Port Guides (google for them.)

 

Here is more information for Halifax and Sydney:

https://www.tripadvisor.ca/ShowTopic-g154976-i327-k9826510-Arriving_by_cruise_to_Halifax_please_help-Halifax_Halifax_Region_Nova_Scotia.html

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2241756

 

 

For PEI I would rent a car and drive something like this. The red sand beaches are on the south coast (maybe look around Victoria by the Sea) but the north coast has beautiful white sand beaches. http://*******/2tSadon

I am taking to the boards of CC hoping for some help from fellow cruisers who are usually very friendly and helpful.

My wife and I are taking the Jade in October to Canada and Quebec. This will be our 15th cruise I believe...but first heading north. Normally we go south in search of sun and sand and tans and tropical drinks. But with NCL having a new ship leave from NY for a limited time, on an itinerary that isn't offered usually, we decided to go on a sight seeing tour.

So I am hoping for some suggestions and tips on planning our trip. Our stops include Sydney Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, a 2 day stay in Quebec, and Halifax Nova Scotia.

I went thru the excursions offered from NCL and some seem cool, some seem eh, all seem over priced. But, without knowing these ports, we're not sure if we're better booking thru the cruise or venturing off on our own.

Any suggestions of any can't miss sights/places? Any excursions worth the money? I will preface this with saying my wife has asthma and COPD so alot of walking is out of the question. Some is ok, with stops inbetween.

Any guidance would be very much appreciated. Thanks, Mike

EDIT - My wife did say she wants to see the red sand beach in prince edward island. But again, not sure where that is in comparison to where the ship is docked.

Still "pending". Still able to bid. As of this morning.

48 hrs from cruise as well.

Cruise is Sunday on the Breakaway. Have multiple bids in on haven rooms. Still listed as pending and able to "review my bid". But the cruise is removed entirely from the website.

Safe to assume the cruise is full and these bids are pointless since no rooms available?

Mike, look at the Breakaway review from 2016, not the Gem review this April. There was room for my fat fingers to pull the connector. Had my Windows desktop on the big screen as a 2nd monitor.

 

via Nexus 5X on Nougat 7.1.2 using Tapatalk, VPN secured.

Ok thanks. I might be pinging you on here on Sunday when we're on board...especially if my hand gets stuck behind the TV

Some good advice above.

 

You have at least two issues on a ship or hotel.

 

1 - Physical access to the port. Can you actually get to it without taking the tv off the wall.

 

2 - Can you select the port/source that you need? Often they are programmed such that you can not change them. Not so much so they can get you to pay for a movie, but so they engineers are not constantly dealing with guests with TVs that are not working.

 

If you can swap out the ships connection to yours, you might be able to override #2 - unless the TV has some other programming inside it.

 

We travel with an IPAD that we can watch directly, or via a cable to the TV - if possible.

Yeah we have an IPad we can download a few movies. Have done that in the past. Was just wondering if there was a way to tap into the TV. Again, kind of makes sense that you can't. That is potential money being taken away from NCL

Yes, you can - for the balcony or mini-suite (and higher) as the HDMI 1 port is used for the "Sole TV" interactive TV signal.

 

You cannot switch to HDMI 2 or Component, etc. as it is firmware locked & default to it with every re-start or power up. Bring a 10' HDMI cable & you can connect - it's a little tight, a small LED flashlight would help you see a little better.

 

Had our travel Sony Viao (Win10Pro) hooked up to play MP4 (or, iPads with the adapter cable). You will disabled access to TV functions, obviously.

 

Click down under my SIGNnature for the 2016 BA Bermuda pictorial semi-live review for all the details. Feel free to ask questions.

 

P.S. I also managed to hookup my Roku 2016 Streaming TV stick on the Gem recently, it's more complicated setup, just to see (see that review's pix)

MKing - first amazing indepth review. Read thru it all, great pictures too. The only mention I saw of the HDMI setup was a picture of all your plugs/outlets and this paragraph. Unless I missed how you MacGyver'd setting it up?

Unlike the HDTV input in the balcony stateroom we stayed in last year, the Sole brand HDTV is tightly wall-mounted against the wall & there really was no "working" room to disconnect the HDMI-1 connector to use my our input/connection to stream music/video (standalone WiFi inTRAnet setup)

Thank you both...and kind of figured as much. Bringing a DVD player would take away potential spending of movies they offer. Would just be nice to watch something other than the same 4 shows on constant loop on the "Favorite TV shows" channel, endless replays of the newlywed game in the Atrium, or the ever popular front of the ship channel when hanging out in the room.

Anyone? Debating taking a DVD player. I know the TV in the balcony rooms are mounted on the wall, but have never brought a device (or looked at the TV for that matter) to see if it would be able to plug in.

Do they have an HDMI input slot and is it accessible? Also, if it is, is there a way to change the input on the remote?

Doesn't it also list the ship's phone number on your keycard when you check in? Can send that your family via text

I'm on that same cruise and was notified a week ago that I did get upgraded. I hear that people do get notified if they weren't, but that is usually two days prior to sailing.

We only booked it about 2 weeks ago. Same day we booked it, later in the day we got the upgrade offer. Made some bids, but if people (like yourself) were already notified they rec'd their upgrades, highly unlikely any of our offers would be accepted. Some of the Haven rooms we were able to bid on even show as sold out on the website.

My wife did some searching on the boards last night. Quite a few posts about people asking how to make it. Apparently it is called "Cool Runnings". Not sure why it is named after the Jamaican bobsled team. But atleast she knows the name now

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=317418

Another probably stupid question...but this is our first cruise since they implemented this system.

We are on the 6/25 Breakaway cruise. Got the upgrade offers, made some bids, etc. I see it says we will be notified, at the latest, 2 days prior to sailing if we were upgraded.

But do we get notified if we weren't? We leave on a Sunday. The Thursday before we are leaving for a trip for our nephews' graduation, and driving from there to the pier on Sunday morning. Taking our cruise luggage of course, with the luggage tags.

Basically, just wondering if we will be notified one way or another so I know if I have to find a Kinkos or Staples to print new luggage tags and Edocs then what we will have on Wednesday night when we're packing everything.

If it doesnt pour from a ten gallon tank, its not likely to be around for much longer.

It's actually been around since my first cruise years ago. There is always 1 day that they have the pineapples and the drinks are served inside them (usually the Mr. Sexy Legs day when the pool deck is more packed than normal). The rest of the cruise you can order the drink, sans the pineapple of course.

I am a beer or cider guy. But my wife likes those frozen fruity drinks. We were trying to remember the name of it but couldn't.

Does anyone know the name of the drink that they serve in the hallowed out pineapple, usually on the pool deck at parties? It's kind of pink looking and a frozen drink

thank you