hallux

On 2/28/2024 at 1:21 PM, mamafun said:

I have been eligible for jury duty for over 30 years.  I have never received a summons.

In (doing some math) 26 years of eligibility I haven't been called either.  

On 2/28/2024 at 2:39 PM, leaveitallbehind said:

Kind of odd in away in that you would think they would be the more older and wiser of the pool....

Except they're more susceptible to blood clotting or other issues that arise from sitting in one place too long. 

On 2/27/2024 at 12:13 PM, Tessis2cool said:

my husband can't fit a lot into a paper bag that I see people showing

I'm a big guy, I wear XL and XXL clothes.  I fit 9 days of clothes (and then some) into one of those bags.  9 boxers, 9 pair of socks, 4 polos, 6 T-shirts (including one long-sleeve), a pair of slacks and a pair of cargo shorts.  I wouldn't say I'm an expert (it was my first time sending laundry out) but I feel I did a nice job getting those in. This was in a bag on NCL.  Being Gold (at the time, made Platinum that cruise which moves me to free bag of laundry) it cost me $15 at half price, the laundry comes back in 2 days.

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

have said not to bother buying the streaming service, as there really is not much of a difference. YMMV.

Unless you need the streaming services or VPN, I don't think it makes a difference

5 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

The don’t install another broadway show when the ship adds two nights to their normal 7-night itineraries. 

For what it's worth - they also don't double the number of nights of the broadway shows when the trip is 15 nights, still doing only 2 nights of performances for each show as they would do on a 7-night.

If you got the beverage plan they may question how the teenagers had the beverage plan when a card with PBP printed on it is presented by said teenager.

14 minutes ago, Smitheroo said:

and also a Solo Inside

It's almost like the person you quoted mentioned that category...

1 hour ago, happy cruzer said:

Often see lists of the negative changes and get upset.  But then realize that most of that does not impact the overall experience.

Right, for example - 

16 hours ago, JamieLogical said:

no more late-night snack in the buffet,

I see this A LOT and just don't get the fascination.  I'm a hardcore snacker at home, like snack on a schedule.  Put me on a cruise and my nightly dinner is PLENTY to get me through the evening and until breakfast the next morning.  I've never found myself out at 1 AM looking for a snack...

Or make it for a larger number and go to the solo meet to offer a spot at the table (but not to cover their meal) if someone has a credit but didn't make a reservation.  I did this on my recent cruise.

6 hours ago, AtlDave W said:

Several mentioned location.  Which location is best?

You won't get much selection of location for a 'solo inside'.  When someone mentioned it before, I looked it up for the Bliss - the solo inside cabins were ALL on deck 5 forward, under the theater.  If you can afford the little bit extra, the Studio or a regular inside might be a better option for the location.

3 minutes ago, julig22 said:

Prior to final payment, you can reprice as many times as you see a price difference.

but whenever you re-price you also accept the offers available at the time of the re-price.  If those offers are better, all the better.  But if they're worse, oops...

1 hour ago, gmbhardy said:

Reality isn’t subjective.

There are ship-to-ship differences as well.  I experienced no perceived drop in food quality on my cruise recently, compared to the last 2 years.  Others on recent cruises on other ships have had bad food experiences.  So, yes, it IS subjective and variable from ship to ship.  I was on the Bliss.  I actually thought the burgers (in the buffet and at The Local) this year were an upgrade compared to last year on the Escape...

3 minutes ago, IrieBajan54 said:

Last year on a Panama Canal cruise, a solo in our group had to get up around 4 a.m. for an early NCL excursion. We were docked in Panama City and I think part of that tour was to experience the canal and locks by boat (as opposed to a gigantic cruise ship). When I saw him at the Solo Gathering later that day, he told the group that it was a good experience but very hot and exhausting.

My description above is exactly this cruise and excursion, from this month, relayed TWICE in this thread (including what NCL did for us for breakfast) prior to your post.  A tip for future people on this excursion - the starboard side of the tour boat was in the shade...

@Laszlo in my case the SUPER early excursion (might have been 5:45 AM meet in the theater) was in Panama City, for the excursion that went back into the canal through the old locks.  It was WELLL worth the early rise!!!  As noted in my previous comment on this topic, buffet was opened at 4:30 AM.

31 minutes ago, vacation44 said:

While I would normally agree, we had to meet for our excursion at 6:45 a.m. and we do like some time after breakfast to use our cabin bathroom.   

I'll have to look back, mine might have been a 5:45 AM excursion meet time, but when I had one (a ship-sponsored excursion) that early they actually opened the buffet at 4:30 AM so people could eat.

14 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

You people doing live reports must have some sort of NCL supermojo.

Or they paid for internet...

12 minutes ago, gmbhardy said:

For those of you who haven’t noticed a steep decline in the NCL cruising experience, I suggest you take your blinkers off.

For those of you that assume my experience matched yours but I was too 'blind' to see it, I suggest you remove your head from where it's become lodged.  My experience is what it was, I felt the food was on par with my previous 4 cruises (I'm less than a month from my most recent cruise) and the on-board entertainment was excellent.

1 minute ago, zqvol said:

I have not noticed any decrease in service in the past 8 to 10 years. It is just like it has always been. 

When my water glass is empty and the waiter walks past 4 or 5 times before I ask to get more I consider the service needing a boost.  That was the main thing and it was almost every night.

1 minute ago, zqvol said:

As they shouldn’t have. Of course as you know you don’t miss anything if you don’t have access. 

I know, and I've made the same argument prior to there being 'solo' categories outside the Studio area but it was worth a try since others have reported success getting it added.  I was hoping to show a friend who was coming on the cruise as his first cruise but missed the first two nights (a whole other story) of solo meets, which was then moved from the lounge due to the size of the group.

I was on the Bliss for a cruise ending earlier this month, I noticed no reduction in food quality.  The service in the MDR (usually Taste or Savor) left a little to be desired at times, but was otherwise acceptable.

As for entertainment - the loss of some of the Broadway-level shows is a disappointment, but the bands on board were excellent.

12 minutes ago, floridafish said:

If you're booked as a solo traveler with solo room rate, you do have access to the lounge. 

 

Yes, but if OP wins an upgrade to a standard balcony cabin they technically are not in a 'solo' cabin that grants access to the lounge.

I boarded the Bliss last month, I had booked an inside guarantee in June and final payment was before the new 'solo' categories were announced.  I tried making that argument (that I didn't have a chance to get the new category based on when I booked or I would have considered it) to get access to the lounge added to my key, they didn't go for it.

If you are no longer in a solo category cabin I believe you will lose lounge access.  Other than for the solo meets I don't see much need for the lounge if you're not in one of the Studio cabins.  I was in an inside cabin on the Bliss (not a 'solo inside' or a Studio) and never found myself desiring the lounge.  It helped that my cabin couldn't have been much further from the lounge, being in the most-aft section of inside cabins.

As noted by others - that was probably a special of some kind.  I've only done 2 cruises as Gold (one last year, one this year) and only got one carton of water during the entire cruise, and one of those cruises was 15 days.

8 minutes ago, shof515 said:

the only thing i hate about studio cabin is the toilet is in the narrow room. depending on your size it can be a tight fit

Nobody else is in the room, I just leave the door open and take up as much room as I want.

7 minutes ago, Davechipp74 said:

I believe with the inside cabin you have to pay the double occupancy, which the studio does not have, or at least that's how it used to be. 

The solo inside category (new for sailings starting Jan. 2, 2024) are more than each passenger in a room with two people booked in it, but supposed to be lower than the full double-occupancy rate.  Consider it a discount on the solo supplement.

5 minutes ago, FLAHAM said:

has access to the studio lounge

A 'solo inside' would also have this.

I was just in a Family Inside on the Bliss - the closet was HORRIBLY small!  I almost would have preferred a Studio.  The only positive about the cabin was the larger size 'desk'...

1 hour ago, Sundodger2 said:

Also we were surprised there was only one cabin service per day and it was at really random times - sometimes it was morning; sometimes mid afternoon, sometimes late like during or after dinner

As noted - the once-a-day service started in January last year.  The after-3 cabin readiness started last year around the same time as that was when they reduced the number of cabin stewards.

On my cruise (the one before the subject of this thread), the first couple times seemed to be a little late/random but my cabin steward seemed to figure out my schedule and my cabin was usually cleaned by lunch time.