CDR Benson

I take your words very kindly, sir. My regard for others hearkens to the concept behind the salute. Yes, the junior initiates the salute, but it must be acknowledged and returned by the senior. Hence, it's a gesture of MUTUAL respect. (I have a story on how that was impressed on me by someone who had no idea that he had done so, but it's long and unnecessary to recount here.) I've maintained that perspective all of my life--- that men of good will, regardless of their station in life, are deserving of respect. The Good Mrs. Benson feels I'm too stiff with people---I insist on addressing people by their honorifics and last names; I use the proper formats for introductions; I stand when a lady enters the room; and the like. But these are the gestures in civilian society which indicate mutual respect between two persons. Everyone wants to liked, but it's more important to them to be respected. Which is a good thing for me. You're genial and a hail-well-met fellow, Mr. Tilkin, in a way that I never can be. I don't wear a uniform anymore, but my silver oak leaves may as well be tattooed on my forehead, it's that obvious that I'm a military man. I'm not readily likeable, but people know I respect them, their positions, and their duties. That is the lubrication which allows our society, with its people of disparate backgrounds and attitudes, to work. You mentioned situations when your subordinates came to you with complaints about problems with co-workers. Your response, "Have you discussed the issue with him?", is a sound one, to be sure. But I imagine that many of those frictions wouldn't have arisen if the two co-workers involved showed those mutual gestures of respect from the beginning. O.K., end of soapbox. And again, Mr. Tilkin, thank you for your good words. We return you now to the regular thread, already in progress . . .

The Good Mrs. Benson and I are still cogitating over what to put on our list of requests in our letter to the butler. I told her not to be conservative in her wishes. In the draught of my "Gary" letter. I've included the phraseology: "We understand if ship's protocols prevent a particular request from being carried out." That should cover us, in case the GMB asks for a ride on a unicorn or a date with Harrison Ford.

There's no such thing as too much planning. My wife is glad that I like to do it for our cruises.

I don't have a problem with that, and I can't imagine why one would.

I also concur, with both your comment above and the other posters who find it eminently sensible advice. Most folks in that situation will understand that that you're moving ahead to a different section or just reaching in to grab a utensil or napkin or whatnot. After all, it doesn't extend their time in line. I resoundly agree with the use of "excuse me" and "thank you". Simple courtesies like "please", "thank you", proper forms of address, tipping of hats, holding doors, and the like are gestures that convey mutual respect; and thus, they are the lubricants which make dealing with each other flow more smoothly.

O.K., then look at it as a bribe, the same way one slips the maître d' twenty bucks to get moved to the head of the line or a better table at a restaurant. If tipping the butler in advance gets me priority attention from him, then it works for me.

Of the cogent information provided by Mr. Tilkin in his "NCL Haven Luxury VIP 'Secrets'" thread, I found his idea of a letter to the butler to be a high recommendation. For our September cruise on NORWEGIAN JOY, I've already prepared a "Gary letter" to give to our butler (subject to revision, in case the Good Mrs. Benson or I think of any additional requests). Actually, I've generated two letters, for, as noted a few pages into Mr. Tilkin's thread, some posters received less than satisfactory service from their butlers during their recent cruises on JOY. The basic difference between the two letters is the original contains a tip for the butler in advance. I agree with the approach that tipping up front assures top-notch service. If our butler goes above and beyond, I'll add to the tip at the end of the cruise. If our butler fails to present himself on the first day, as he should and in the cases of all the reports of sub-standard butler service, did not appear until a day or more later, then my second letter will not contain a tip or make any mention of one. Any tip to him at the end of the cruise will be based on how well he recovers from his failure to report on the first day. I agree with you folks who also tip the concierge and the room steward (even though the latter is covered by the service charge). It doesn't hurt to show one's appreciation personally. Besides, we might sail on NORWEGIAN JOY again, and it would be good to be remembered favourably.

Mking8288, thank you for your detailed briefing of your experience on JOY. I was particularly interested in your account of the embarkation. As you know, we will be embarking out of New York for the 16 September voyage to Canada/New England. The embarkation is my biggest concern. On our only previous cruise, to Alaska on a Holland America ship, one of the reasons---probably, the major one---we opted for a Neptune suite was because Neptune suite passengers got priority boarding. But, it didn't work out that way. We were to be escorted to the terminal by a Holland America rep. He was late, so we didn't get the early jump I wanted. Still, as suite pax, we were swiftly moved through the check-in, security, and customs. After that, though, it became a zoo. There was no organisation to the staging room where passengers awaited boarding. Just hundreds of people sitting in a massive cattle call. The boarding process was underway, but there was no apparent rhyme or reason to whom the port officials were summoning to board next. Certainly no attention toward priority boarding for suite passengers. They just called rows of seated folks at random. It went against my grain as a military man who understands the need to follow procedures, but after ten minutes of that Chinese fire drill, I'd had enough. I took my wife and positioned ourselves as close to the door leading to the boarding path as we could get. Then, when another row of seated people got called to board, I told my wife, "Let's go," and we merged with them. If one of the handlers had protested, I had planned to flash our gold suite-pax ship's cards. But, it was so disorganised that no-one in authority noticed. A five-minute walk and we were on board. I want to avoid the same sort of debacle this time, so I've been studying every scrap of information about boarding at the Manhattan Pier Terminal. You provided me with the most direct information I've received so far. Thank you! My only real concern is making sure my wife and I take the proper pre-boarding COVID test. I'm still vague on what NCL will accept. But I presume, if we mess it up, testing is provided at the pier, for a cost. Otherwise, we'll muddle through just fine. I expect. Especially with the helpful info provided by seasoned NCL pax like you.