hallux

It's a darned if you do, darned if you don't situation. Darned if you do - Reduce capacity on the sailings, cancelling booked berths to get there, and have the level of service people expect. Darned if you don't - Allow everyone to sail but have reduced quality of service. Either option results in complaints. Long run, I think complaints about quality of service on the ship(s) might be more damaging to the reputation. Also consider that the 1,500 people that sail all complaining about quality of service is a worse mark than a couple hundred (both multiplied by how many sailings?) complaining about being cancelled.

I'm sure they are, but it also takes time to onboard people. Anyone hired at those job fairs could be 30+ days from being able to board the ship and be productive, and crew members are always rotating off the ship as their contracts end.

I'll second the forum suggestion. I'll tack on a restaurant suggestion - the Frog & Onion Pub, right in the dockyard near the entrance to the National Museum.

and are getting every penny back, or should be. You really think the HR team is just sitting on their hands rather than working their tails off to fill positions? This ship is an especially challenging one to fill positions on because they can't hold job fairs in 10 countries to hire staff, they need to hold job fairs in the US to fill positions on this ship.

According to the thread on the topic, she doesn't have tenders that are certified for use in US ports. Doesn't mean there aren't lifeboats that can be used as tenders it's just that the USCG wouldn't allow them to (apparently even in an emergency situation).

Why not take one of the eMed proctored tests with you (one for each of you) in your carry-on bag and do the proctored test in your hotel room?

I haven't done it, but I imagine using non-promotional airfare would work similarly to using NCL as your travel agent. You would discuss your preferences for the flight or the flight options and they would book based on what's discussed.

https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/airsea https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/premium-air

and @prmssk there have been lots of posts over the last 6-8 weeks (or more) from people saying they couldn't book their shows, on most or all ships. It's not just a Prima thing...

I imagine you can find bunches of discussions about this topic in the East Coast Departures forum - https://boards.cruisecritic.com/forum/317-east-coast-departures/

Did you book the BOGO promo or the Premium Air option? It may matter as the two programs have different terms. BOGO, for sure, won't let you make changes once ticketed. BOGO terms are included here - https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions Premium Air/Air-Sea terms - https://www.ncl.com/freestyle-cruise/airsea It does seem both indicate no changes allowed after 75 days before the cruise.

are they metal? Most slides are polycarbonate, FRP or fiberglass. I realize they're dry slides, and that may make a difference, but if I recall we saw some clear sections (which would be polycarbonate) and you'd want similar expansion/contraction rates on the slide pieces. Does anyone know what Royal used for the Abyss on the Oasis-class ships? I think those are also dry slides.

Anyone that's bothered to read the T&C's knows...

I think the last Quantum class (Quantum-Ultra actually) is Odyssey, recently (November 2021) completed.

On a European itinerary I'd consider giving cash tips in Euros or the predominant currency for the countries visited on the itinerary, that way the crew member doesn't need to exchange it if they go on shore and want to spend it.

If only there was a website where you could find and view videos that people have taken and posted as cabin tours. Oh, there is! There should be a bridge cam channel on the TV...

@Turtles06 I caught it! I was going to call them out for you but decided not to...

When I sailed on the Joy in March I occupied the space on the Port side up one or two levels (on stairs outside) from the main sun deck at the forward end. It doesn't have forward views (I don't think there are any public non-Haven outdoor spaces that look forward) but it seems not a lot of people know about this space. I think it was at one of the doors to The Vibe, I think it was expanded to both sides but the deck plans don't show that. The space is not clearly visible on the deck plans. Port won't give you a view of the Statue of Liberty, but it will get you some views of Manhattan.

Shore excursion is $50 credit for the first passenger, not total for the room. I took an excursion for under $20 after the discount/credit on my cruise in March. Yup. Comparing apples to apples - what does RCI charge for their drink package and can you get it included in the fare? Just think of it this way - 2 drinks per person per day and your out of pocket cost is covered. Typically you won't get the option to pick your room unless you choose the free at sea fares, so compare that fare to the "I'll pick my room" fare with RCL to get a fair comparison. And the stateroom class! For what it's worth - an informed customer will know all this because they read the terms and conditions. https://www.ncl.com/about/terms-and-conditions/promotions (linked in the fine print in the banner advertising it). You're not the first (and probably won't be the last) to make a post like this.

I think a few people are confused - OP is not asking strictly about one-way cruises but rather cruises where people don't embark all at the same port @GeorgeC @donaldsc and others. As for that type of itinerary - as others noted it's much more common in Europe because of regulations in the US. You MIGHT find some Panama Canal cruises that allow embarkation and disembarkation in multiple ports.

Using the app for messaging each other is a $10 PER DEVICE fee and is independent of the internet plans.

We REALLY need a sticky thread on this, it comes up A LOT. 3rd or 4th time this week!

I'd be curious as well. I used Google to search using the entire paragraph (well, the first 32 words of it as that's apparently the limit for Google) and none of the results on the first page were from NCL (but this thread was the top result).

Keep in mind that NCL is not paying the fares you're looking at, they're negotiating fares based on some bulk purchase.