hallux

@SeaShark the value of the certificates if they're returned is $500, that is what I would file for...

22 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

but you said there was no "solo meet" in the studio lounge

No I didn't.

22 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

Why have a bar if no one ever has a chance to use it.

Maybe they didn't anticipate the popularity of solo cruising when those ships were designed?  When they started out I believe they DID host the nightly meet there, but it outgrew the space.  The Bliss, Escape and Encore can easily accommodate 50+ in the lounge (but some will need to stand), with 86 Studio cabins on each ship.  My last cruise had 70-120 on the first 2 nights, the meeting got moved to American Diner for more space.  My cruise on the Escape last year had 30+ on the largest night, it was in the Studio Lounge every night.

26 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

because I checked enough times to catch it at some point.

Did you check at the RIGHT times?  Were you there between 5 and 7?

Just now, Smitheroo said:

Still, they have a studio lounge with a bar and never saw a bar tender once.

If there was a bartender they would only be there during the solo meet.  There's no 'announcement', it's an activity listed among the rest of the activities, usually 5 or 5:30 PM...

8 minutes ago, zqvol said:

Solo meet ups are rarely in the studio lounge. They are usually in a bar. 

There are a LOT of people making this generalization, I have yet to see it happen.  Solo meets on my recent 15 day cruise on the Bliss were SUPPOSED to all be in the lounge, but the group was simply too large.  He had to search for a replacement venue, there was not an alternate for the lounge originally planned.  The only NCL cruise I've been on where the solo meets were not in the Studio Lounge (or were not planned to be at the outset) was on the Joy and that was because there is no Studio Lounge on the Joy.  I wonder if the 'not using the Studio Lounge' is a Getaway/Breakaway thing for some reason...

23 hours ago, decrepit old man said:

How close were the whales in Cabo? Like were they close enough to see clearly without binoculars? Also which side of the ship were they on?

I was on the cruise prior to this one, we had some close enough that you could hear the 'blow', but by the time I got up (I was sitting on the Waterfront) to see they had gone under and didn't come back up in view.

43 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

and have never seen a group like this is the MDR. 

then you never saw the solo group show up at the MDR...

12 minutes ago, cruiser2015 said:

The water is fine - probably more pure than most bottled stuff on the market.

and better than you get from most municipalities.

There are groups on social media sites for exchanging them.  Unless you never plan to sail NCL ever again, just keep them.  There is no longer an expiration date for them.

I would be surprised if anyone knows for certain one way or the other at this point in time.

47 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

BTW who is this Miss Leading you speak of and what is her first name?

How original 🤪. Several people have made similar jokes about the grammar error...

I hate to add to the morass of 'this is my favorite' where eventually every restaurant is named, but here's my take.

I prefer Le Bistro and Cagney's, with Le Bistro typically getting my preference.  However, my Filet at Cagney's on my last cruise was the best I've had, giving Cagney's a boost again.

As for 'value' - my Cagney's meal totaled in one meal what a two meal dining package costs.  My Le Bistro meal would probably be close to the same (the waiter didn't properly assign meals to the room cards, we were a group of 5 solos).  If you're on a ship with Q I don't feel there's the monetary value like there is at the others, it's not really worth using a dining credit.

34 minutes ago, PaperSniper4 said:

Not sure what FAS is?

I know what you said, but I'm doing it anyway - Free At Sea, the offer of add-ons of beverages and dining.

24 minutes ago, rodndonna said:

I didn't think you could book FAS and not have the gratuities for those added to your invoice.

You absolutely CAN book a FAS room and decline the beverage package, removing the need to pay the beverage service charge.  I've done it on every cruise I've taken on NCL.

19 minutes ago, bortman23 said:

You have no way of knowing the total number of bar staff per ship, so you're not able to make an accurate calculation. There are also way more behind the scenes staff that support the bar staff who likely share the gratuities (much like land bars and restaurants)

and it's more than bar staff - the Sommelier's (spelling?) at the dining rooms and specialty restaurants would also get a cut...

1 hour ago, 9tee2Sea said:

Everything we ordered had to be sent back at least once due to cold temps

I had a different experience on the same cruise.  Though the service in Taste and Savor left something to be desired.  I'm planning a mini review of the trip, not a day-by-day "I did this, and this, and this" kind of thing but just a general review.

On my last cruise there was an excursions rep walking the line of people waiting for an agent at the desk, I was looking to book one and to get the discount you have to visit the desk.  When the rep walking the line got to me she took down my cabin number and told me to book the excursion in the app and she'd take care of the discount later, which was done.

Something to be cautious of - if you pre-book an excursion and it's cancelled (either by you or NCL), the FULL PRICE (minus latitudes discount) is credited to your account, then you are re-charged the next day the $50 for the FAS discount you received on the excursion.  It's REALLY odd...

I'm so happy to see you got to enjoy the full cruise!!  Best wishes on a full recovery for your mom

11 minutes ago, kylenyc said:

fees are presented up front at the start and not at the end of the billing process.

It can be argued that the fees ARE presented - if you read the terms and understand that the beverage service charge of 20% of the retail cost of the package is the responsibility of the passenger.

19 minutes ago, Russiamomm said:

I was simply speculating that since the Encore and Joy are sister ships

Technically the Escape is a sister to them but she has a different layout for decks 15 and 16 (being that there is no OL and the Garden Cafe is aft rather than forward).  My point is that even though they are 'sisters' there are some technical differences that might make similar changes more difficult.

As I said - the Joy originally had cabins in the space that got cabins during the dry dock, the infrastructure was there to put them in.  Adding cabins there on the Bliss or Encore would require additional engineering.  I'm not saying it's not possible, but it would be considerably more difficult in a 2 week dry dock on those ships than it was on the Joy.

9 hours ago, Mrearl said:

They should not advertise free drink packages,it is not if you have to pay and additional $690 for gratuity

And if you bother to see the * on the offer, then refer to the T&C's indicated by that note you will see the details of the offer and the guest responsibility for fees or service charges.  The information is all there IF YOU CHOOSE TO READ IT.  Don't fault the cruise line if you can't be bothered to read the terms of the offer.

8 hours ago, IAcruising said:

To do to Encore what they did to Joy would cost $millions more due to infrastructure change.

I tried to explain that earlier in the thread but they chose to ignore it...

49 minutes ago, donnamatrix said:

played by Billie Kerr,

OK, I was able to get a picture with her and one of the 'swings'

4 minutes ago, Russiamomm said:

I suspect they’ll be making similar changes to the OL on the Encore.

Don't be so sure.  The Joy was originally built with cabins where they just put some back in, they were taken out during the 'Westernization'.  The infrastructure was in place to put the cabins back.  The Encore never had cabins in that space so it won't be as easy to do.  Additionally - Encore and Bliss do Alaska cruises, the OL is a big draw for those trips, literally DESIGNED with Alaska in mind.

28 minutes ago, OrcaGirl said:

And that the actress playing Jane Seymour was particularly delightful

I saw two different Jane Seymours, I wonder which one he was commenting on.  One was quite petite.  The petite one is the 'swing' that also can fill two other roles.

2 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

If you are thinking in terms of including an a la carte restaurant as part of a specialty dining package, I believe the consensus would be to not do that as the fixed fee covers the normal specialty restaurants regardless of what you order and is typically higher than what you would spend at the a la carte venues - especially as that is directly dependent on what you order a la carte, which is in your control.

On my recent cruise on NCL the free-at-sea meals (less than $20 'service charge' at the time of booking) allowed me to get a $100 meal at no charge at the steakhouse (Cagney's).  That was an app, soup, entree and dessert.

I'd have to go do the math for my Le Bistro order but I think that was a similar cost. 

Considering a 2-meal package is $99pp if you pay out of pocket and ONE meal can run up a bill of that much at an a-la-carte restaurant, it's absolutely worth it if you want to go to those venues.  The cover charge venues may not carry the same value with the SDP unless you're only using the free-at-sea meals.