hallux

I could have the French Onion soup in the MDR every day, no problems.  Have it at Cagney's or Le Bistro and I have some digestive issues, worse at Le Bistro.  So, yes, there IS a difference.  Maybe it's a different cheese?  I think some mass-production kitchens will use Swiss or a cheaper cheese on top, while traditionally I think it'll have Gruyere so maybe it's that cheese I have an issue with.

No, the issues are not onset of Norovirus, it lasts one round and then done, and it's happened on multiple cruises after having that soup at those specialty venues.

57 minutes ago, rjcook9 said:

Why would you want to take your own wine if you’ve got a beverage package. You will just be saving NCL money.

 

Some want wine in their cabin.

2 hours ago, majmaj4 said:

There is a handy flyer in the link

It's almost like NCL wants people to know about it... 🤷‍♂️

Not the Premium Plus package - https://www.ncl.com/onboard-packages/beverage-packages

2 hours ago, Anoynmous Phoenix said:

Could be that that is going to migrate to all NCL offices.

Doubtful, it's more likely just an IT glitch as has been known to happen from time to time.

1 minute ago, EllieinNJ said:

We upgraded at final payment 3 weeks ago and now it is another $200 less.  Will they give us obc or fcc instead?

If you upgraded before final payment you can request the fare difference in FCC.  But you get ONE chance, be sure you're absolutely happy with the final fare you're paying...

The return date is wrong, just try tomorrow.

3 hours ago, flcruzer said:

NCL won’t do anything because it’s within 14 days of sailing. If you have a NCL contact please provide it. TIA

Did you like the price of the cruise when you booked?  I'm guessing you wouldn't want NCL coming to you and asking for more money because the prices of cabins went up, would you?

As others said - you can get compensation for a price drop, but only if more than 14 days from the sail date.  You missed your chance.

2 hours ago, eileeshb said:

They do that on all of those ships, epic is the only one with an actual bar and even there the bar tender is only there for a couple of hours each evening. Escape, getaway, breakaway, bliss, etc.

Don't the Breakaway and Getaway have bars?  The pics on the deck plans page seem to show something like that.  I know the BA+ (Bliss, Encore, Escape) don't.

16 hours ago, 3CanadianBears said:

Thanks - so you can not use any minutes at all if you wait to upgrade? Not sure that would work for us....

Keep in mind that on embarkation day you're in port until around 5 typically, sometimes later.  That means you'll have cellular if you NEED to get online.  That also means you're paying the full day price for 7 hours or less of access.  By the time midnight rolls around most people are BEAT from travel and exploring the ship, so you really won't need the upgrade until you get up on the first morning at the earliest.

If I upgrade (I have on my last 2 cruises) I do it the day after embarkation day.

These folks in this previous thread have some thoughts - 

16 hours ago, Oakman58 said:

Neil Diamond’s Sweet Caroline is everybody’s favorite

12 hours ago, richg35 said:

Pro tip - nobody wants to hear sweet caroline

When I was on the Escape a couple years ago the songs requested the most were probably Sweet Caroline and Don't Stop Believin' Oh, I believe one of the cast members actually commented that Sweet Caroline is THE most requested song and is the song she hates playing the most.

I was blown away by the talent among those four, everyone did everything - piano, guitar, drums, singing and having a personality.  I followed one of the cast members on SM, though I don't live in the area where she normally plays.

Now that the chief has weighed in, I'll just sit here with my 🍿 and see what other 🤡 thinks the policies don't apply to them.

20 minutes ago, jds2001 said:

I moderate the NCL subreddit and can guarantee that OP will receive similar treatment there. Likely on the generic cruise subreddit as well.

I visit and participate in that subreddit, I would make the same comments there that I make/made here...

10 hours ago, cb2367 said:

I wasn't aware that I could deviate on the return side of the trip

It's covered in the T&C of the promo - 

https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions

Specifically - 

• Deviation requests up to 2 days pre/post cruise will be credited $25 USD per person per deviation for guests 1 and 3-8 on the reservation. No other deviation requests will be permitted.
• Date deviations can be added up to 110 days prior to embarkation.

@PaperSniper4 this was the first result when I did a Google search on your question - https://uswatersystems.com/pages/deionized-water-vs-distilled-water#:~:text=Deionized (DI) water is water,methods for creating pure water.

6 hours ago, Never cruise with NCL said:

Imagine this You're on a cruise, and the line offers you an excursion, encouraging you to explore on your own for a bit. You trust them and go ahead, expecting that if anything changes like the ship needing to depart early or skip the port you'd be informed so you can adjust your plans and not be left behind

First off - if you get off the ship on an excursion the ship hasn't skipped the port, so that part of your hypothetical is out the window.  If the port is skipped before you get off the ship then you'll get your money back for the missed excursion IF you booked it through the cruise line.

Second - if you're on a ship-sponsored 'explore on your own' excursion where you've been transported somewhere in the port city and given a time to be back for the bus to pick you up but the ship needs to leave early for weather concerns then the cruise line usually WILL get you to the next port, or make every effort to do so.

Take, for example, the couples earlier this year that did their own excursion in an African country but returned late, after the ship left.  They were advised they could re-board at a later port stop if they could make their own way there.  The ship then had to skip that port stop due to weather or safety concerns so NCL picked up the bill (either because they were shamed into it or because it was the right thing to do due to the ship having to skip the port) for them to get to the NEXT port, but still not for travel to the skipped port.  The first leg of travel was still the passenger's responsibility because they chose to leave the ship on their own excursion.  This situation is different from yours, though, in that it was all still the same cruise so they were still passengers on that trip.  You checked out of your cabin, closed out your account and left the ship from the first cruise.  You were no longer a passenger on NCL, not until you stepped back on the ship.

So... let me ask you this.  Weather cancellations for port stops are usually, as noted by others, same-day or day-before decisions.  You find out through this new email/texting policy that the ship is skipping the port you're in.  What do you do?  CAN you book a last-minute flight (a same-day one, even) to the next port on the itinerary?  Say you can, what if they decide they need to skip THAT one?  Are you going to book endless flights between ports until you can board?  Somehow I have a feeling that in the part of the world where this happened to you there was not going to be a whole lot you could do to meet up with the ship even if you WERE notified of the skipped port once the decision was made.

7 hours ago, Never cruise with NCL said:

especially when they involve approved embarkations.

As someone that used to work in the industry (for NCL even) noted - it was an ALLOWED downline embarkation.  That still carries the risk of the port where you want to embark being skipped.

By the way - Royal Caribbean won't allow this AT ALL.  Their policy, per the blog post I found, changed in 2021, but prior to that they discouraged the practice for the exact reason of the possible last-minute itinerary changes causing the ship to miss the port the passenger wants to board at!  https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/different-departure-port-city

Thank you @chengkp75 I considered tagging you for your expertise but I thought maybe my brief explanation was enough for the OP.  I did some searching before posting but I couldn't find the detailed info you posted.

Regarding the 42 hour docking in April - wasn't there a propulsion issue then and they had to take her in to make a quick repair?

45 minutes ago, Mitina said:

 They had to have known about this last month.

If the ship is going to drydock, which is a distinct possibility with that amount of time, they don't always know the EXACT dates they can get the dock for.  You just happened to book just before they got the schedule from the shipyard.

43 minutes ago, Mitina said:

but we’ll stick with a more transparent cruise line like our usual Viking sailings.

Hate to tell you - Viking is going to do the same thing with their ships, you just haven't run into it yet.

1 hour ago, 9tee2Sea said:

I hope at least 1 cruise line starts making smaller ships, that can easily navigate into ports where the townsfolk are having congestion issues.

Maybe not quite THAT small, but I think Royal has already said their next class of ships after Icon will shift smaller again.

14 hours ago, The Traveling Man said:

How do you think NCL plans to fit all those additional passengers on the last few Pr1ma class ships?  Will they add an additional deck?  Will they make the ship longer by squeezing in an additional section somewhere around midship?

Some quick research (Google is a thing) reveals the answer.  Aqua will be 70 feet longer than Prima - Prima is 981 feet, Aqua is expected to be 1,056 feet.

2 hours ago, Never cruise with NCL said:

We wouldn't be asking for a refund If I wasn't charged.

You were charged for the cruises, but were you charged the DSC for the days of the first cruise after you left the ship?

2 hours ago, Never cruise with NCL said:

Imagine this: You’re on a cruise, and due to a medical emergency or family situation, you have to leave the ship for a day or two. You’ve made arrangements with NCL, gotten the green light to rejoin the cruise at a specific port, and you’ve invested in the vacation. Now, what if something changes, like an itinerary update, and you’re not informed because you’re off the ship?

COMPLETELY different situation.  In your situation you CHOSE to leave the ship.  In your hypothetical of a medical issue you were forced to leave the ship for a medical reason.  Additionally - if you had to leave for a medical reason that has you off the ship for longer than the port stop they usually completely disembark you and consider your cruise done, they wouldn't get you to the next port to re-embark you.  Also, if they disembark you for a medical reason I've heard that they have someone that will keep in touch to see how you're doing.

1 hour ago, Never cruise with NCL said:

Can we agree that if you were on an excursion booked through the cruise line, you'd expect them to take care of you?

They do, and they would be in communication with the tour leader to keep them informed of possible changes.  Different situation as at that point you are under the direct care of someone contracted by the cruise line.

I did that cruise in January/February, same direction.  Through the canal I stood mostly on the port side, got some great pics.  I don't know what was on the other side.

Regarding sailing up the coast - you'll get some land views while leaving ports, but at sea you'll be out far enough for them to open the casino so you likely won't see land too much.

5 minutes ago, erisajd said:

but if that fee goes up the have the right to charge you for it - NCL isn't losing money on that. . .

I don't think I've ever seen a post here about NCL contacting a passenger and asking for more money because the port fees went up on a particular cruise.

2 hours ago, pghflyer said:

They have our email and phone, so why not communicate in all mediums to make sure everyone got it?

Better than that, since many lock their phone in the safe for the duration - something given to you by your waiter at dinner or as you enter the buffet the day prior.  MOST people eat dinner, it's the best place to 'catch' someone if you have to get a message to them.