IrieBajan54

16 minutes ago, BermudaBound2014 said:

 

I can eat lunch at Bayside for $20 with no drinks. I think it's a very nice gesture.

 

Did NCL or MSC give anything to passengers waiting to embark? Does MSC or NCL have busses moving passengers from the terminals to Bayside so they can enjoy the day?

 

 

Isn't there a Five Guys and Checkers at Bayside? I would think that $20 is more than enough for a meal combo. Those burgers should definitely be better than the dried out ones in the Garden Cafe.

I always go to the Latitudes Party. Normally, a few of us solos meet there and enjoy some drinks together. We pay no attention to the CruiseNext sales pitches. Basically, those of us who attend aren't into the beverage package. Whatever I already have on is what I wear.

I've done several TA's and prefer westbound that ended in Florida. The ones that ended in NYC always had chillier and inclement weather where the captain advised to stay indoors on some days. I recall doing NCL's last cruise from Houston on the Jade which turned out to be an eastbound TA. Very memorable with good weather as we cruised the southern route. Lots of activities staged by Meet & Greet organizers including Tai Chi. Only thing I did not like was the negative time change.

I'm a solo cruiser (4 times/yr) and wouldn't book for that price. Since the restart, NCL has been maintaining high single supplements for solos. However, I haven't changed my strategy which is never to book until after final payment is due. I monitor after that point until a doable fare is available.

1 hour ago, dahirsh said:

What are the "free at sea" gratuities if they are not the standard room attendant/wait staff gratuity?

 

They are the gratuities for the bartenders/drink waiters. Mind you, some cruisers feel it is still necessary to give the same bartenders/drink waiters cash every drink they bring on top of the aforementioned gratuities already paid. 

ETA: and specialty dining waiters

8 minutes ago, FLAHAM said:

I have found the buffet a mixed bag.  The pizza is poor.  The burgers are marginally adequate.  On the other hand, the rotisserie snout-to-tail carved pork (special one night) was excellent.  The Indian dishes were pretty good.  Not a fan of the meats in Moderno, but the salad bar was the best on board.

 

A group of 10 will have problems finding seats in the Atrium.  However, one or two can almost always squeeze in.

Yeah, Moderno is awful except for the salad bar. The meats are tough and they got rid of lamb chops.

17 minutes ago, teazy said:

Very unhappy customers. Many asking for gratuities back or refusing to pay, and also requesting partial refunds on drinks package. Lots of complaint forms to Miami being completed

Glad to read passengers are pushing back against this unscrupulous business practice. I noticed the cheerleaders have disappeared with all their alternative facts.

6 hours ago, ziggyuk said:

We were one of the first onboard at 11.30

 

NO ALCOHOL IN ANY UK PORT

 

Just been told they will not serve alcohol while in ANY UK port what!

 

This is not a UK law as they tried to bluff me with, what a joke, we had this in Athens a year ago, now here in the UK, my home 😡

I hope you're not taking it laying down and you should demand a prorated refund on the beverage package. This also falls into the category of unsatisfactory service which doesn't warrant higher service fees.

I only do the Behind the Scenes Tour once per ship. I don't see the enjoyment going a second or more times. I was on the Encore recently for the first time and took it. Pretty vanilla or been there, done that. I too like the Dinner With the Officers. On the Encore it was one of the engineers as I vaguely recall.

9 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Portable toilet? Like, one of these? 

 

 

You've never used one? Like, ever? I mean, I know you got a lot of sagebrush to hide behind in North Texas, but really? Never? 

Never! Why do you find it out of the ordinary? And before you asked, I did not attend Woodstock. 🤣

12 hours ago, Sydneyberlin said:

Oh yea, disembarkation was a total mess. Are the facilities always THAT bad in LA I wonder? It was basically a giant shed with fences inside. Chaotic, stressful, mad.

Well, based on recent reviews, the terminal leaves a lot to be desired. After finishing with the custom officer, I asked where was the restroom. It turns out to be a port-o-potty to the left of the exit door. I've never used a portable toilet before so simply waited until my shuttle got to the airport. Third World cruise terminals I have visited put LA to shame.

TopofWorld, that's the state of affairs now in the industry. Lower standards at higher fares and service fees. Fortunately for them, the ships are packed.

1 hour ago, craig01020 said:

It seems like luggage delivery is getting later and later. Last cruise, I didn't get my bags until after 7 p.m, and only because I found them in a crew-only area.

 

I'm wondering if it makes more sense to choose a late boarding time and just transport my suitcases myself. Even if the cabins are ready at 3:00, I can start unpacking hours earlier.

 

Anyone ever do this, and is it even possible?  Thanks.

Even though I have not used it, there's supposed to be a location where you can check your bag/luggage after you board. That way you can stroll the ship without dragging around your luggage Just ask one of the crew when you get onboard.

Great review! I was on your cruise but in steerage.🙂 Just so happens that I am one of those who prefer seafood. Went to both Ocean Blue and Cagney's twice and yes, I ate seafood in both places, LOL. However, I don't eat tilapia and that was available too many days for lunch in the Garden Cafe.

As for music, I enjoyed Full Coverage in the Atrium and by the pool.

I've been cruising for something like 27 years and the disembarkation in LA was the worst ever. Never seen anything like it before. It took at least two hours to get out of the terminal. Luckily, my flight home was after 4:00 p.m.

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In the main dining room, I modify my entree every night. Since I don't want carbs like potatoes or rice at dinner time, I simply tell the waiter only the meat or fish and nothing else on the plate. I also order a second plate of steamed green veggies (any combination of broccoli, asparagus and green beans). I stress to the waiter the veggies should not be overcooked. Must be crunchy, not mushy. They get it right most of the time.

On my recent cruise, my cabin key card had "Casinos At Sea." printed on it. Didn't bother to question why, but it was odd because I'm not a gambler.

21 minutes ago, The Traveling Man said:

We were on the Sky last month and ate breakfast at the buffet about half of the mornings.  Smoked salmon was available for breakfast each day we ate there.

I just re-read my post that you quoted and noticed that I made a typo in the sentence "But in 2022, I just ...". Maybe everybody understood that I meant 2023.

Anyway, the system is haphazard. I will see if I get lucky on my next cruise.

I used to get zero single supplement on a regular basis before the pandemic. Hard to come by lately. Have been booking all cruises after final payment. Now here is my twist on the per night cost. I figure that everybody has to pay port/taxes and gratuities so I don't include those in my calculation. I determine my per night cost from the base fare only which is the advertised price. Comparing base fare is the only moving target (up or down). 

ETA: $100 per night would be tops for me. Anything around $60 is ideal. I did an 11 night Auckland to Sydney for $23 per night back in 2019.

3 hours ago, bedfordmom said:

If I remember right, smoked salmon has been off the breakfast buffet for years (since at least  2015)  except for the main dining room.  One of the perks of the family  suite on the Dawn is that I was able to eat suite breakfast and have my smoked salmon.  I was able to coerce my DH into the dining room for breakfast for this cruise  when he figured out that they had much better OJ than the buffet (though that changed near the end of the cruise  .  I actually would order only order two smoked salmon (each half bagel) for my breakfast.

 

 

On the first 3 of my 4 cruises in 2022, there was abundant smoked salmon in the buffet every morning. Gem, Joy and Prima. Then on my December Bliss cruise it was gone. I wrote a letter to the hotel manager (don't recall the exact title) and dropped it at Guest Relations. The restaurant manager contacted me stating that NCL was cutting it fleetwide in the buffet. Prior to the pandemic, I used to eat breakfast in the dining room to be served instead of serving myself. But in 2022, I just liked eating breakfast quickly after exercising. I have to wonder if they have to throw out all that salmon mousse at the end of the day? Yuk!

22 hours ago, bedfordmom said:

 

 

Another cutback is on the food.  I never saw salmon in the dining room  as we must have missed it during our two specialities. The portions (except for desert) were painfully small, lukewarm to cold.  For example, I ordered the tilapia, (portion the size of my iphone); yellow carrots which was the size of three fingernails and fingering potations (one tiny potato the size of my thumb).

My cruise on the Gem left a day after yours. I am mainly a seafood eater but don't like tilapia. Anyway, I love salmon and like you, never saw it on this cruise in the main dining rooms for dinner. I prefer grilled salmon but would settle for broiled if that is offered. Previous cruises always had salmon on some nights.

One other thing, I like smoked salmon for breakfast. It is no longer available in the buffet. So I was forced or coerced into eating breakfast in the Grand Pacific. Less availability cuts food cost, obviously!

56 minutes ago, InfrequentPNWCruiser said:

Same for us in 2019 with the Escape at MCT. Getting of the ship was easy but CBP was only allowing a dribble at a time to go onto the terminal. Once you got there, including picking up the luggage it was like about 10 min to the street as facial recognition was being used. All depends on CBP staff levels ( same goes with TSA staff at the airport) on how smooth debarkation will be.

I have always been lucky at MCT and maybe it's because I do self luggage walk off. Getting off the Gem two days ago, the line looped around Guest Relations forward and then all the way back up and into Bliss Lounge. Then all the way up to exit the ship. It was a slow process but the line moved. The CBP-Immigration staff in the terminal were using facial recognition and some personnel were directing passengers to the agents with the cameras. So at that point it was moving pretty quickly.

5 hours ago, bjlaac said:

So here's what's going on in reality with once a day cleaning.  Just got off an eleven night cruise on the Gem.  Upon boarding told all cabins not ready until 3:00 PM.  At 3:30 PM a mandatory lifeboat drill was called while most passengers were trying to unpack.

 

Throughout the Cruise room stewards (at least on our deck) did not start until 10:00 AM each morning.  Multiple passengers complained during the cruise their room steward didn't show up to make their rooms until 4:00 PM on many days.

 

Lots of complaints at customer service.

 

Somehow I don't think this is working especially at $20 a night, heck I wouldn't settle for it at $16 a night in gratuities.  The only thing that's going to make this nonsense stop is to remove the pre-paids and tip accordingly.

I was on the same cruise and solo. I was on deck 10 and had a friendly and personable cabin steward. I exercise daily and have to wash out my workout gear, then roll in towels to quicken drying. Even though my cabin wasn't cleaned until late afternoon daily, at least I got the towels requested. But the guy obviously was stretched thin and that is NCL's fault. 

I was one of those who got their luggage after 5:00 p.m. 

I ended up giving the cabin steward a hero card because he got my towel request done daily. Other than him, no one else deserved one.

1 hour ago, debenson0723 said:

We got off at 7, arrived at LAX just after 8 via NCL shuttle. Super easy and organized.

I will disembark in May and originally planned to get a Uber. I am surprised because I did not think NCL had a shuttle that early to LAX. Maybe I should reconsider?

I got both the email and the coupons are posted on my account. Too bad it's only for Alaska. Been there, done that. If only they were for other destinations, I could take advantage. I think Alaska bookings are soft and the coupons should stimulate reservations.