complawyer

the concierge perk is good, and only good if you're booked into a haven or a suite. club balcony suites do not count. usually, if youre booked into either of the above and are eating breakfast in moderno, the concierge is setup at the entrance. if you're sailing on a ship with an actual dedicated haven (it's own bar and restaurant) they concierge usually has a desk set up in the haven area. sometimes, again if youre booked into a haven or a suite, once youre past security and sent to the haven area awaiting boarding, the concierge will come down to escort you on board. at this time i give him part 1 of my vegas handshake

If it will put your mind at ease, we've been on over 20 ncl cruises in the past 13 years. on the dawn about 7-8 years back. we've been on almost every ship in the ncl fleet except, breakaway, encore, prima, sky, joy, and a few others whose names i cant recall at the moment. in any event, while i'm not trying to appear as an ncl cheerleader, i can say without a doubt, in all that time, i've never had a bad cruise on any of their ships. cruising is what you make it, sure, some things can go wrong with being on a vessel with 2-3 thousand of your closest friends, the kitchens are preparing 1000's of assorted dishes, multiple times a day, to try and please an assortment of tastes. sometimes, you may choose a shore excursion that isnt as exciting as described. you may miss a port (or more) due to weather or mechanical conditions. look at it this way, you're on a floating hotel, going to exotic ports of call, you have an unlimited amount of foods to choose from/eat. a variety of specialty restaurants, unlimited drinks, and no one will chastise you if you have one to many. By and large, the entire staff is there to make sure you have the most pleasurable experience possible, especially if youre booked into a haven or a suite. so my best advice to you, is ignore t he naysayers, and doomsday followers, get on the ship, relax, do what's offered, or do nothing at all. Just enjoy the experience. We've been on cruises where i didnt bother to see any of the shows, didnt use any of the extra offerings (except the specialty restaurants) and was very happy and contented to sit on my balcony, with a cold beer, or glass of champagne, reading my kindle, and watching the ocean go by. my criteria for booking a cruise is (1) price (2) itinerary. I find that ncl offers best bang for your buck, on both counts as a final note (and ive posted this before) the only thing that annoys me on any of the cruises we have taken, is that the hamburger buns always fall apart before im done with the burger. that being said, however, if thats the only thing i have to complain about, im batting 100%

god bless them, but as ive often posted before, ncl doesnt give away ice cubes in winter. and if you watch very carefully, whenever they have one of their fantastic, remarkable sales (sarcasm intended) the cabin prices go UP and UP and UP! go figure

we're booked on the dawn 21 days from capetown to barcelona. basically tehe west coast of africa march 2024

coldferret, it's 100% better if they know who the tip came from. this way they get to know you, and might table a few extra steps in your favor. just give the money directly to them

on day 1,once youre on board go to the desk that has all the reservations, and tell them what you need. there's a good chance you'll get the time you want

if you want the can and are willing to pay for it, most of the bars/restaurants will give it to you. just tell them you want a can of soda.

as the saying goes, "god bless the vegas handshake"

havent seen this particular perk offered in quite a while. we took 4 cruises in 2022, and not one of them offered this. we have another b2b this jul/aug, and a 21 day cruise next march, and neither of these are offering waiver of dsc

mistertomatoe i usually order an appetizer, soup (french onion) lettuce wedge, fillet, mushrooms, fries and onion rings. usually pass on dessert in cagneys, almost the same in le bistro, i usually pass on la cucina.

rocketman, last july, i gave our breakfast waiter $5.00, and he thought he dies and went to heaven. whenever he saw me on the ship, he smiled, chatted for a few minutes, and since this was in the mdr of the bliss, whenever i went back there for a meal, i asked for him. tipping extra, really does help

dont worry about it, it's not very complicated. just wait until you get in your cabin, pick up the phone, dial reservations, and tell them you're cancelling. as far as i know there is no penalty for a no show even if you didnt give cancellation notice, and, i understand that if you dont show up within 15 minutes of your reservation time, it gets cancelled automatically. this is not something you need to worry about

depends on the attitude of the person waiting on you. i have never been limited by a waiter in any specialty restaurant on what i order. get an appetizer, salad, soup, main course, sides and a dessert, and never once been told "no can do" if you go to teppanyaki, or moderno, it's irrelevant, as in moderno you can eat until you drop. and in teppanyaki, all you have to decide is what you want for the main course. everything else is included (other than your drink) btw, the teppanyaki chef, usually make more than enough fried rice and vegatables for 2nd's

no, i'm sure that whatever amount you give as a tip above and beyond the dsc is greatly appreciated by the ones being tipped. i once asked our waitress in cagneys about this, and she advised most people DO NOT leave a extra tip. so ellipooh, dont worry or sweat about it. if we're in a suite or a haven, when we're having breakfast or lunch, you usually get to know the wait staff so i tip them daily. also advised it wouldnt hurt to give the maitre'd an extra $20 if possible. i try not to appear "entitled" but i do ask our butler for some extra goodies throughout the cruise, so the tip is worth it to me. ive always tipped our cabin steward at least $20 at the beginning/middle and end of the cruise for standard 7 day sailings, and obviously this is doubled on a 14 day cruise. what's nice (at least imho) is that the staff in general do not expect any extra tip money,. so it makes them feel good, and if/when they get to know you, they're a little happier and inclined to go thelittle extra mile for you. in the end, (and this has been covered many times, and almost beaten to death) tipping extra is entirely up to the cruiser. the staff doesnt expect it, so they are pleasantly surprised, and are not disappointed if they dont get one. i believe this is especially true in either the buffet or any of the mdr"s

no, the owners suite automatically comes with 3 bottles of booze. we usually have the 2 bedroom. i always feel that it doesnt hurt to ask. sometimes i ask him to switch it out for a bottle of prosceco my wife's favorite

dont forget the gummie bears, a delight not to be missed or taken for granted

btw, california stopped voc rehab programs many years ago

ziggyuk. it shows that you responded to my last post, but nothing came through. am i mistaken, if not, can you repost it.

you got it!!! ive always said that alone is worth the price of admission (lol) there is another way, although sneaky and may not always work. on one cruise, i became better than acquainted with one of the people working at guest services. the night before disembarkation, i gave him $20 and asked if he could get me off the ship quickly.. worked like a charm . i always say, no matter where you are in the world, "si habla $20 " also i realize that may sound a bit jaded, but whatever works!

cruiseny4life, not only did our butler get me a 6 pack of soda and a few bottles of heineken, they were replenished on request. but also, he substituted that horrendous wine they give you in the suite, for a bottle of moet et chandon. what a great guy. he was worth every dollar of my tip (about $200). by the way (1) other than on/off the ship for excursions and final disembarkation, ive never had the butler or concierge escort us to any restaurant, or have dinner served in our suite. i my be a maximum prima donna, but some things i can manage by myself and after being taken to cagney's for lunch on the day of embarkation, i have managed to find it again on my own.

browneyedgirl68. refer to my post #3. actually, if it's at all doable on the ship, the butler can get it done for you. also, try and take advantage of the concierge. if nothing else, when the cruise is over and it's time to disembark the ship, he sets up a meeting area and walks you right off to the luggage area, bypassing the 100's of people waiting in the halls, or on the steps for their number to be called. another great perk (imo) is not only do you special tags for your luggage the day before disembarkation, but they are stored in a completely separate area, making them easy to find

browneyedgirl68. you're missing at least 50% of the haven experience by not utilizing the butler. remember he's there for you and other haven guests. imho, you're doing yourself a massive disservice by not using this perk to its fullest extent as an aside "rock on van morrison"

when 1st meeting the butler, i ask him/her each morning to bring a pot of coffee, pot of decaf and pot of hot water for tea. along with sweet rolls, muffins and croissants. of course, gummy bears and peanut m&ms are a must. if i ask nicely, he'll bring me a 6 pack of coke, and a couple of bottles of heineken for the fridge the butler will bring you almost anything that is available on the ship. if you want a meal from the specialty dining rooms, and wish to stay in your cabin, he can arrange a white dinner table in your suite. breakfast and lunch are in moderno and cagney's respectfully. you can arrange with your butler or the concierge to escort you priority off the ship, and depending on the time you get back, the butler is usually waiting at the dock to escort you back on, bypassing the crowd. it also doesnt hurt on your 1st full day if your having breakfast in moderno, to introduce yourself to the maitre'd and maybe slip him a $20. ive done this nearly everytime we've sailed, and they cant do enough for us. he even got my wife and i into cagneys one night for dinner when it was allegedly full with no more reservations available, dont even be intimidated by the butler, he's there to help and make your cruise that much ore enjoyable and stree free

fyi, we're booked into a 2bedroom suite on a back2back july 27th through aug 15. my reservation indicates triple latitude points, so we're getting 57 points total. just enough to squeak me into diamond, although as ive posted before, the diamond perks dont really help me anymore than being sapphire. that being said, however, im not turning them down

amberle3. other then they're outrageously overpriced, (and im aware it's part of the costs of doing business) i find that on a great many of these ncl excursions, you get rushed through the sight. with this limited time, most of the stops are disappointments. just a few moments to take a picture, then rush back on the bus! last year we took (imho) an incredible cruise from southampton to copenhagen. even though it involved a 3 hr bus ride back and forth from le harve, one of the ports was paris, and on my bucket list was seeing the eiffel tower. feeling romantic at the time, i booked the lunch cruise on the seine river. while i got to actually see the tower, my wife was disappointed in the entire excursion. i know we only had a few short hours, but if youve never been to paris, it's to be savored, not viewed from a bus window. the cruise before that, our guide rushed us through jerusalem. with over 3000 years of history, it's another city to be explored and savored. i realize that time is of the essence on these excursions, but both costs around $300 per person. sorry, and i know it's not their fault, but i just didnt feel like tipping these people. by the way, i always tip at least 20% even if the service is bad. ive also talked to a number of wait-people on ncl cruises, and by and large they say most people do not tip any extra money. the staff seems over joyed when they do receive an extra cash tip, and trust me, they remember it and you