rabidstoat

I heard back on my query to NCL about the fan ban. It was just a canned response saying that they are banned and directing me to the URL about prohibited items. 

I think if you bring something against the rules that isn't inherently dangerous, if it's a cruise that returns to the same port they can put the item in a "naughty room" and then give it to you after the cruise. Or heck, maybe they store it in a naughty room on the ship.

I think most of the lines do that. I remember walking by a table on one of my recent cruises (though I think it was Celebrity) where there were confiscated items waiting for people to pick them up. I remember distinctly because there were a lot of confiscated irons and I remember thinking "who brings an iron on a cruise???" I mean, I don't even use one at home! 

10 hours ago, roger001 said:

NCL!  Give a clear and non silly "why" a small USB fan is now prohibited.  And, no one size fits all BS.  I'm not the brightest kid in town by any means.  So I'm probably just overlooking a very obvious and significant reason they should not be operated on a cruise ship.  But, having used one for years, even though they are made in China by little school kids, I personally just don't see the issue.  Maybe it's like not bringing on you own personal water or soft drinks anymore because they constitute a threat to the safety of the ship, oh wait, that turned out to be a profit issue, but clue me in.  I'm dense, so explain it clearly please.  

I just submitted feedback about my displeasure with this change and asked why even USB fans are banned.

I'll let you know if I hear anything. 

6 hours ago, disneylover89 said:

Are you able to request a fan?

Well, you can request anything, sure!

Maaaaybe if you're in the Haven and you request in advance they could come up with something. I've never heard of fans being available, though. The only electrical thing I can think of is an extension cord, sometimes you can get those. 

Guess those little fans that people clip onto baby strollers are also banned. Sorry, kid! 

Apologies for asking something I'm certain has been asked before but I'm on the Joy and the Internet is struggling making searches hard.

If I leave my room steward an extra cash tip for being a great Steward does he get to keep it himself? What if I give my favorite bartender a cash tip at the end of the cruise, do they keep it or does it get pooled? 

I am currently on the Joy in a balcony room. I think the ship is great! I am a big fan of the Observation Lounge. The pools are weird in that they are like postage stamps and the decks are mostly for loungers. I never really go in the pools so that's fine for me but if you like lounging in pools be aware! I also appreciate that the casino has a smoking section that is walled off in a glass room so that the smoke doesn't diffuse over the whole casino.

That said, the current cruise is a bit rocky. The computers were down when we boarded Sunday, leading to a 3-hour wait (and 2 of it standing out in the line on our feet). The Footloose shows were postponed, I'm assuming because of COVID or other sickness. There was engine trouble or something similar, causing us to be delayed into our first port of Cartagena, and the land-based tours were pretty miserable being so condensed on top of super-bad traffic.

I assume we are just unlucky and that these problems are not typical of most cruises, though.

I am on the Joy right now. It's day four and my cruise ship decorations are still up!

4 hours ago, SHIP TRAVELER said:

The Elite happy hour is not held on the night of embarkation so if you don't have a drink package you might want to bring on board some wine (two bottles per person allowed) to have that first evening.  Now that the drink packages are not built into all fares, I am seeing more people walking into the dining room with full glasses of wine.  Celebrity does not serve the elite happy hour drinks in the dining venues. There are sometimes free drinks served to players in the non-smoking casino.  These are some differences I notice between the two lines.

I'm currently on the Edge. When boarding, there was a couple in the same cabin who had two bottles of wine each. They were prevented from bringing all four on board with them and told the limit was two bottles per stateroom and not two bottles per guest. They thought this was wrong but ended up just temporarily giving the two bottles to new friends they made with the couple behind them, who had no bottles of their own, and brought them in and handed them back once on the ship.

I went to the Celebrity site to see what the policy is and they have conflicting information, both in their Before Boarding FAQs:

1. In the section under "What is Celebrity Cruises’ Alcohol Policy?" it says: "Embarkation day when each guest is permitted to bring onboard with them up to two (2) bottles of wine (which are subject to a corkage fee) per guest."

2. In the section under "What items are prohibited onboard a Celebrity Cruises cruise ship?" it says: "Note: On boarding day, each stateroom may bring up to two 750 ml bottles of wine or champagne."

So in one place it says "two per guest" and in another place it says "two per stateroom." It seems like it's been enforced both ways. So your mileage may vary.

3 hours ago, MarkusToe said:

What kind of Coke are the offering on bliss?

Do they have Coke Zero?

I'm on NCL Joy next month and wondering this. Their website lists only like five or six different types, but I wonder if they ever sometimes have Coke Zero or Sprite Zero.

9 hours ago, Nclsing said:

Just returned from cruise on “The Star”. They don’t give you a can they pour in a large glass of ice from the bar fountain. With tax and tip the price was U.S. 4.55. It’s a no win situation. I am not a big soda drinker but enjoy an occasional coke O. So the soda package is a waste on me but I resent paying for a watered down coke at highway robbery prices. I complained in writing to NCL.

I'm thinking of getting the package just because I'll be bitter over getting a watered-down glass with like 4 ounces of actual soda in it for four bucks. Sigh.

I'm trying to decide if I want the soda package or just buying individual cans, so I wanted to do the math. This is on the NCL Joy Panama Canal cruise next month, in case things are different in Europe or Asia.

1 hour ago, Jim_Iain said:

If your up for brewing your own just bring a Glass Jar -- Toss in your favorite Tea Bags and set on your Veranda -  or near the window    Couple hours later or next day you have a nice brew that can just be poured over ice.

 

Just Google -  Sun Tea

I've tried sun tea before at home and never had much luck with it.

I'm on that cruise as well and plan on taking a self-test with me, just in case! I can always do it real fast at the port but it really does sound like that we shouldn't need a test with our itinerary. 

Ooh, just googled and Café Al Bacio looks nice! I'll have to haunt the place, it seems.

First time on Celebrity but I've sailed on RCL, NCL, and Carnival many a time. There they have iced tea but it is a vile concoction made from a powdered mix. As a Southerner this is simply unacceptable, it's like serving Lipton tea bags and microwaved water to a Brit!

So is there iced tea on Celebrity and if so, is it the same vile mix or is it actually brewed?

If there's not proper iced tea does anyone have advice on making your own? I'm thinking of bringing two one-quart plastic containers and finding some very hot water (surely that's available somewhere?) and using my own iced tea bags to brew some, then cooling it down overnight in the mini fridge.

Er, there's a mini fridge in the cabins, right? I had assumed so anyway.... 

I cruise in 87 days and am hoping they remove the testing requirements, though it's not a huge deal. Would just be one less thing to worry about. 

Also I was just in Europe on a land vacation, and I was excited by all the different varieties of soda that we don't have in the US. Watermelon Fanta is my new favorite! I'll have to go back to Europe for it, though.

On 8/11/2022 at 9:50 AM, RussNJodi said:

I just hope they get the Coke Freestyle Machines as part of this; seems appropriate for the Freestyle cruise line, no? 

I would love this! I only drink sugar-free Coke products but prefer the ones without caffeine in the late afternoon and evening. 

Actually, maybe this is bad. When it was Pepsi products I didn't drink soda for the length of the cruise except in port, and I don't drink alcohol either so I was being healthy and drinking lots of water. If they get Freestyle machines I'll end up getting the soda package and drinking more diet coke and less water.

4 hours ago, Steff79 said:

many pics

 

https://thepointsguy.com/news/norwegian-prima-photos-first-look/

 

Dear God is Cagney's ugly. It looks so tacky to me with 70s era avocado green and orange coloring.

On 6/1/2022 at 4:14 PM, PTC DAWG said:

I like my tea sweet and iced and at times with a shot of Titos. 🙂

As long as we're saying controversial things about tea, when I do hot tea at home I heat up the water in the microwave.

I was on the Oasis 2 weeks ago, it's my favorite class of ship! Things were a bit understaffed but staff was still great, as was the Aqua show and the ice show. Cats was awful.

My friends are still on the ship! They are doing a B2B2B that ends with the Canada jaunt.

I probably would only consider it on tender-heavy cruises, if it gives priority on tenders (which I think it does?).

What's the earliest you can call, in what time zone, and does it differ on weekends?

I'm on a Southern Caribbean cruise, not an Alaskan cruises. I see jeans are allowed in the MDR on casual night, would they look out-of-place, or are there people who do dress down like that?

I suppose I will wear jeans either way, as that's my casual attire, just curious!