hallux

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.

1 minute ago, Langham1865 said:

Wasn't this one of the biggest in the fleet?

I think the Joy, Bliss and Encore all had the same size OL's, the entire section of the ship forward of the forward stairs on deck 15.

53 minutes ago, Langham1865 said:

I do not know how that impacts the observation lounge in relation to the Encore

The Joy lost 1/3 of the OL.  With as popular as it is it seems quite controversial to remove part of it.

9 minutes ago, IAcruising said:

 

 

Bliss isn't on the list.

 

I'm aware, that reply was merely pointing out the omission of the Bliss from the list of those with the enclosed smoking area in the casino.  If you read my previous replies you'll note that I was aware of the Bliss not being on the OP's list as I questioned that omission...

43 minutes ago, skeeter195 said:

the reason for this is that there is a separate small enclosed smoking section of the casino

The Bliss has this also...

7 minutes ago, Daruma said:

What puts the Bliss above the Escape in your mind?

They're nearly equals, but the observation lounge gives the Bliss a slight edge.  On a warm-weather itinerary the Escape is an excellent ship, though.

I'm not sure why the Bliss was excluded from that list, unless the coupon doesn't allow use on a cruise on that ship.  I'm just off my 3rd cruise on her, I think NCL hit it out of the park with that ship.  The Escape may be my next choice.

On 2/10/2024 at 9:50 AM, FlyerTalker said:

For example, a recent cruise charged $70 per person for a 3 mile ride to the airport (not NCL nor to JFK)

and yet the NCL cruise I was just on had transfers for $70 total (if even that much, it might have been as low as $25 per person) for two to get from San Pedro cruise terminal to LAX.  Prices vary considerably from port to port.

My balcony on the Bliss in 2019 was a GTY if I recall.  I got deck 14 mid to aft (forward of the aft elevators but not much), not a bad spot.  My sister also booked a GTY for that cruise and got deck 9 mid, over the shops.

19 hours ago, cruisinfamily7609 said:

Very true. Food is a big deal though, so it’ll be interesting to see how I feel post-cruise.

Just off the Bliss on Sunday, I had NO issues with the quality of the food itself.  Service, on the other hand, seemed lacking at times.  I'll post more in my own thread and leave this for @OrcaGirl to continue if her mom gets the treatment she needs in PV and can stay on board.

@OrcaGirl I'll tell you right now that the captain is doing what he can to ensure an on time arrival in LA.  There was a medical emergency 45 minutes after leaving Cabo yesterday, lost 2 hours or so returning and transferring the patient for critical medical care.  His noon report today was that we're 'running flat out' (confirmed with a GPS app that we're doing 25-26 mph right now).  I can't speak for others, but I know that myself and those I've befriended on board don't plan on trying to extend our vacation to the detriment of yours.

You could go find the roll call for the next cruise on the ship you're curious about and ask people there to report when they get the chance.

You could also go to the 2024 officers and crew thread in this forum to see who was on ships at some point so far this year.

56 minutes ago, Lionkingrichard said:

What tricks please?

Look in the sticky thread.  The main thing is not to use the points for OBC, but to pay for everything on the card to earn 3x points on those purchases then use the points for statement credit instead.