nyfltraveler

I am on the AARP site and cannot find anything having to do with carnival gift cards, let alone 10% off. Can somebody please provide navigation to this site? Thanks

Can somebody explain why it's so important to know who is staffing a particular ship?

And with respect to concierge and butlers, what is the importance there? What function do these individuals serve to the passenger?

If you have a haven room I am sure you can bring others in your own traveling party (e.g. Other family members) in there even if their room is a non-haven room.

Hard to criticize NCL for changing their schedule due to a hurricane. That said, if people miss the cruise because of this NCL better darn well refund the cruise fare or there will be a lot of criticism. So far I haven't seen anything to suggest they wouldn't do this.

Why should NCL refund the cruise fare one cent? The ship is not only sailing but it's going to the intended destination and its leaving only 2.5 hrs early. If you are traveling in and were leaving it to chance by first arriving at the pier at 1:30, 2.5 hrs before the original sail 4pm time, shame on you.

What if there was a thunderstorm at your departure point and the flight was delayed? What if there was an equipment problem with the plane causing a delay? Is that NCLs issue too?

....it was nice when people made an effort for dinner. Tshirts, shorts and flip flops belong in the buffet not the dining room.

That's for sure. It's really something when people cannot even wear a collared shirt and pants/golf or Bermuda shorts in the Mai. Dining room or Cagneys. On a recent cruise we had people just off the beach in Cagneys complete with a beer company t shirt, swim suit and flip flops.

Freestyle, yes I get it and like it, but there should be certain dress requirements for certain restaurants in the ship.

Agreed. The traveler can have weather or other travel related issues at their own originating point. Is that the cruise lines fault too?

If you live outside of metro NYC (in this instance) a prudent thing to do would to be in the area the night before the sailing anyway. You never know about flight delays or even plain old traffic.

Same thing goes for somebody sailing out of Miami or any other port.

Agree that no need to be formal. However, it does rub me the wrong way that they do not have at least a collared shirt and pants (or Bermuda/Golf shorts) rule for the specialty restaurants. Recently I was on a NCL cruise in the steakhouse at 830pm and the people sitting at the next table were in a t shirt advertising a beer company, swim suit type shorts and flip flops. Certainly fine attire by day at the pool or if eating in osheehans or the buffet for example, but in a dining room type restaurant they should have certain minimum dress codes in effect.

Why would anyone get off the ship and stay at a resort for a night or two when they have a cabin on the ship? Unlikely, but if they did, too bad......

 

 

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Happens all the time. People explore the island, meet family, friends at destinations.....

I wonder if anybody who got off the ship Wednesday or Thursday (for example to stay at a hotel/resort on the island for a night or 2) who was planning on returning to the ship by the regular departure time, was left behind due to the significantly (6hr) earlier departure.....

$20/$30 per cabin per week

 

 

At ncl we eat as a family so $5 per table

 

 

Crew gets the same salary anyway so my cash is the extra for them

 

 

Ncl says there is no need to tip so I'm going with what they say plus my above

 

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How many people in the cabin? 2 adults? 2 adults 2 kids, 3 adults, etc?? How many night cruise are we talking about? 3, 5, 7, 10 etc?

How many people at the dinner table? Again all adults? Adults and kids? Etc...

Yes

 

 

Because they are getting the same paycheck regardless of my dsc. I think that has been confirmed several times already

 

 

My dsc apparently goes to help ncl pay the crew their contractual rate. Which they have to get regardless of my dsc being removed or not

 

 

 

 

I'll give him $20 or $30 extra and he will still get his regular check plus some cash and the waiter $5 per table.

 

 

These crew members sign a contract. They get the same week in and week out. The only extra they see is cash pax hand them

 

 

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How many night cruise and how many people in a cabin for $20-30?

Waiter, how many people at the table for $5?

Just curious.

Pretty much a waste of $10 per person. The phone/text aspect is spotty, at best.

For the most part, in the service industry its out of sight out of mind(but of course there ARE exceptions).

Point is Many workers of this type,whether at a resort, cruise ship, bar/restaurant or the like, are trained to smile and be friendly.....however once you leave the resort/ship/bar, while you may be thinking of them, they've moved on to the next guest/customer and are not thinking of you to the same extent.

On ships, Crew are often given a list of returning passengers or VIP/loyalty members. So while it may appear that crew remembers you (and yes some actually may do), the crew is trained to acknowledge these returning/VIP passengers.

Crew members for the most part (the service crews, not the entertainers, etc.), are on board to earn cash to send home to their families. They are not on board to be entertained or collect souvenirs. Port calls, when they get them, are spent shopping for staples, or things to take home, not trinkets and souvenirs.

So yes, cash is best.

Agreed. Nobody cares about your box of candy. These people work hard for months at a time to earn money to send home to their country.

Thank you. That leads me to another question. We have the ultimate beverage package. It looks like 18% gratuity is included in the price. Does that mean we don't need to tip while on board? We're trying to figure out how much spending money we'll need.

 

 

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You should always tip while aboard. These workers are paid very little for hard work.

Hmmm learn something new everyday. I was buying it for my DD and she hates pop. Lol. I knew about the tax thing, but not this.

 

I wondering if when this started everyone had to have it and I just assumed it stayed that way.

 

 

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Buy the kids soda package.

Good write up. My wife and I are sailing on the Breakaway in 40 days.

 

Not that we watch a ton of TV while cruising do you recall the channel lineup on the Breakaway? I like watching TV before bed and we're also going to be gone during the middle of the college football season. I'm a little "worried" about missing a specific game. If we can't watch it in the room hopefully one of the bars will carry it.

Other than Fox News, MSNBC, a European sports channel and a movie channel there was nothing else. You are not going to get to see your USA pro or college sports. Licensing fees for satellite too expensive.

Yes Kate. It's quite interesting how some of the passengers treated the staff and how many people would not give additional gratuities to bartenders, waiters and Cabin steward. These workers are often on the ship for 8-10 months at a time working 7 days for what the us would consider less than minimum wage. The cruise lines are able to get away with that by registering the ships in the Bahamas and other countries which do not have minimum wage laws.

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Why would one not want to give gratuities? The staff works very hard for less than a fair wage. We not only leave the charge but throughout the cruise will give cash gratuities to wait staff, room steward, camp staff etc

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Second City was not funny at all. Very disappointing

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Keypad. You create a code each time you lock the safe

Yes. It was shocking to hear how many people did not leave something extra to the Cabin steward or a sit down restaurant waiter.

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Just because one has the drink package doesn't mean they should not tip the bartenders.

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Excellent report, thanks!

You're welcome.

To respond to another note I received, in the restaurants be prepared to dine as opposed to ear. In other words, service is not fast for the sit down restaurant meals. Often 1.5 hrs.

If you have been on the Breakaway, what was your experience with cigarette smoke? I am used to the casinos being so smokey I cannot go in them, but I'm reading more and more accounts from people saying that smoking is allowed in many areas on the Breakaway and it is very noticeable. I'm particularly interested in the Waterfront area. Is there a smoking and nonsmoking side, or is it a free for all??

Horrible. I think smoking should be banned from ships just as it has been on airplanes.

NCL is a family oriented line with many kids. The fact that the "smoking section" on a number of the ships is right on the pool deck (near kids areas no less) is crazy. And many smokers are oblivious to this fact.

To each their own if they wish to smoke, but please respect the non smokers and kids.