Birdie And Sue

On 9/2/2019 at 1:37 PM, marklyn said:

I know you can turn on airplane mode and from what I understand the ship turns off the cell service in port.

However, with our Tmobile plan and data pass we want to be able to use land based cell networks when we're close enough to do so, plus we're going through the panama canal, and want to be sure we're using land based cell networks there.

Does this mean anytime I want to use my cell phone for data/calls I need to always check the cell network first?

Does anyone know of an app that prevents you from using ship cell service?

Tips for this situation?

It it helps, we have android S9 and S10 phones with Tmobile.

Thanks

The best way is to turn off your phone and enjoy your cruise!

Anyone can email anyone else they so choose.  I always laugh when I see someone say they are going to email a CEO though, usually (foolishly) thinking that emailing a CEO will get better, faster, more direct attention/response.  In all actuality what happens is that an intern or someone else other than the addressee reads the email, sees that it has nothing to do with the said address, and forwards it along to the recipient it should have been addressed to in the first place. All basically slowing down the process and getting the email at the bottom of the pile.

On 9/5/2019 at 3:04 PM, NancyL2 said:

Is there a certain way a pub crawl is set up?  Do we have to co-ordinate this with NCL?

Nothing to even bother NCL slightly with.  Just look at the deck plans and pick the bars you want to go to.  I usually pick bars that make the path as easy as possible and requires no elevator use.

On 9/6/2019 at 2:13 PM, SeaShark said:

FWIW...you don't have to "have a butler" to be educated enough to know what they do. Even poor people can know what a butler does. Money is not a requirement for knowledge.

Many times it is an impediment to knowledge. Let alone manners, tact, and common courtesy!

On 9/5/2019 at 11:29 AM, Dgius said:

I just got an email that the HAVEN restaurant is closed our entire sailing on the NCL Joy(leaving in just 2 days!!!!).   They said that we would be eating breakfast and lunch in Cagneys!  And we have the 7 day specialty dinner package.   I am very upset. I had an intention to rarely leave the sanctuary of the Haven space.   I would appreciate any comments or feedback.   Am I am being unreasonable by being very upset and disappointed?  I am not a big specialty restaurant person so what should I book if I have to choose one every night of our sailing.   

 

 

Upset, yes you are being unreasonable.  Disappointed, not so much.  If you do not want to leave the Haven simply have your butler bring you dinner to your cabin every night form the specialty dining of your choice.  The Haven dining facility, like everything else on a cruise ship, need attention from time to time.  For whatever reason they chose to do the work during your cruise.  Accept it and move on.  Enjoy the free specialty dining they are giving you to make up for the inconvenience.  Nothing to ruin your whole cruise over.  Especially not before you even set foot on the ship and see how everything goes.

On 9/4/2019 at 7:18 PM, Petoonya said:

 

FINALLY. The ice in the dam of my brain has broken! I keep getting the "per person" and "per week"

garbled. I guess it may make good sense for us. I actually drink not more than 2 drinks a day but I down 5-6 diet cokes a day!

 

THANKS FOR EVERYONE'S PATIENCE with me. I finally get it. Silly old lady I am.

You will not down ANY diet COKES on NCL.  They serve Pepsi products.

1 hour ago, beaver said:

We are considering a cruise on the Joy. our cabins will be balcony cabins and we are travelling with another couple. My question is can the balcony dividers be removed or opened up so we can have a larger shared balcony with the adjoining cabin.  Our last cruise on the Spirit we could not.

Can they be opened, yes.
Will you be allowed to have them open, no.

6 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Something is lost in the humor that you do not understand - ah er above your paygrade !

 

The ships command is held by the rank of Captain (4 stripes on sleeve conventionally)

The management of the ships operation is controlled by the now former (Hotel) Director

and when you attend a on board ship party the Captain and the now General Manager

stand side by side or maybe with the Staff Captain in between and all have 4 stripes on

the deck out uniform blouse jackets.

The Captain's being quite wide in structure - the General with 4 stripes much thinner.

In the USA military the rank of (Brigadier) General is one paygrade higher than a Colonel

which is the same rank as a navy Captain (O6).

This leads to Captains command ships - Generals manage on board activities.

Therefore my statement that a General will never outrank a Captain (while on board a ship).

 

OK - pick it apart - so he is not a general but a Manager - shoulda coulda left the ranking

system where it was - nothing was broke that needed fixen - or de-promotion !

 

This unless dealing with the:  Major-General's from The Pirates of Penzance  LOL !

LOL all of that silly diatribe over a meaningless change of title that has zero consequence to anything.  Oh well some people just have way too much free time I guess!

PS the Navy does not have ANY Generals.  They have Admirals.  As such, your whole tirade is moot.

22 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

Gee sorry we can't give you a raise - but we have this new nifty office title for your job.

Yeah the Hotel Director was and maybe still is a 4 striper - a wee thin on stripes compared to the Captain

But in the case of NCL here a General will never outrank a Captain !

He isn't a general he is a Manager.

On 8/30/2019 at 6:53 PM, casofilia said:

Does anyone really care one iota what title someone else has for his job?

 

Yes as it allows you to clearly see the chain of command.

LOL obviously it does not! Even if it did it does not make any difference anyway.

59 minutes ago, coastcat said:

I wonder if it's different for first-time NCL cruisers? My first cruise is a few weeks away and NCL mailed me the color-coded luggage tags (but not other documents).

It is different for Haven cruisers.

8 hours ago, fstuff1 said:

i dont. 

when i think of general manager, i think baseball. but i still have no idea what a GM does in baseball.

 

thus i think General Manager as a watered down title for Hotel Director. it confuses people (ie: me) as to what he does.

wonder why NCL changed it?

and also wonder if they did any polling/testing or just 'fly by the seat of your pants' instant call by Del Rio?

 

Does anyone really care one iota what title someone else has for his job?  Seriously this has to be so low on the scale of things to even think about that it does not even make the list.  Too much time on your hands...

6 hours ago, Kelownacruiser said:

Sure it does. To receive something for "free" when you need to pay something, hence, it's not free anymore. Deceptive advertising. Explain to me how you are able to obtain the drink package for free? How do I go get a drink using my drink package without it costing me anything? I can't. I can;t have the automatic gratuity removed and choose to tip in cash. Doesn't matter what the reason is for an additional cost, it's still an additional cost and is no longer free. If they had advertised it as drink package for just $20/day, that's not deceptive advertising. Free wifi is free, no deceptive advertising there.

Now, that's the way everything is nowadays, buyer beware, but doesn't make it right.

That is the whole point you are NOT paying for the package no matter how many times you stomp your feet, whine, yell, and hold your breath.  The package is free.

You have two choices (if you want the package).

Pay for it - Use the FAS and get it free.  Under both choices the barkeep needs to prepare and serve your drink and thus should get tipped.  The 20% tip applies whether you pay for the package or get it free.  You pay $0 for the package, that means it is free.  It is the very definition of free.

By your silly and inane (il)logic, it is equally you would be whining if they did not charge the 20% since you had to book and pay for the cruise to get the FAS so it would never be "free".

Bottom line is if you do not like getting a drink package without having to pay for it then by all means turn down th offer  and pay instead.  Your choice!

7 hours ago, Petoonya said:

Son and wife at dinner. He's leaving for Europe. They need to know a few things about the perks on NCL.

1) Internet....is it unlimited? Or how limited?

2) 7 nite cruise how does the dining perk work? How many meals anywhere they want?

3) $50 toward shore excursion. Is that per person or per cabin?

Thanks soooooooo much for your quick answers!!!!

1) You get what you pay for.  Read the description of each package.

2) If you are asking about the Free At Sea dining offer, on a 7 NIGHT cruise you get three meals (first two people in each cabin only).  What is included is described in the terms and conditions.

3) $50 per port per cabin.  Use it or lose it.  You cannot use $100 at one port and then $0 at the next, etc.

3 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

My first experience with "Free" drinks package was with Celebrity where "Free" meant no additional charge for gratuities. So the drinks and the gratuities were "Free". I was a wee bit shocked when Norwegian's "Free" drinks package was only drinks being "Free". Only a wee bit shocked because both are "Free" as defined by their respective marketing departments and marketing folks earn MBA's and six figure salaries figuring out how to describe a green coffee supplement as a weight loss miracle, or how tap water is somehow an exotic spring water just because it has a fancy bottle, or how the product is new and improved just because they changed the packaging.

 

Unlike beauty, "Free" is not in the eyes of the beholder, it is in the eyes of the marketing department! 

 

They said free drink package and that is what you get in anyone's eyes.  They did not say no gratuities and the fact that is not free is fully disclosed. One's failure to read the details of an offer does not indicate deception on the part of the party making the offer.

2 hours ago, don't-use-real-name said:

After all this "What part of *FREE* do you not understand" ?

 

No little * (star) see Terms & Conditions - Gratuities not included (even if it is FREE)

and if something is FREE how can that be taxed - Nothing times nothing is after all Zero nada nothing "0" !

Something about that new math being used - must be that warp speed infinity technology !

 

Nothing but a big old button reading "LEARN MORE".  BTW the free drink package is not TAXED.  You are paying the gratuity on the service that is being provided based on the VALUE of the package.
 

6 hours ago, DirtyDawg said:

 

Na, hasn't been that many, but it would have made the drinks package 100% "FREE" for one cruise. 😉

 

It already is.

5 hours ago, BNBR said:

 

It would be more like the manager tripled the cost of the items before comping them, and then you paying the tip based on that obnoxiously inflated price.

Nothing was tripled at all.  In fact the price was reduced to $0!

2 hours ago, Outerdog said:

 

No.

 

RCL closed the island and changed ports as a result of the storm. That's not changing.

Actually it may.  They might change ports again.  They might change back to original ports, they might go to other ports not yet planned.  There is no way anyone can say with 100% assurance that any cruise will NOT change an itinerary.

7 hours ago, Jetdoctorbox said:

They should put exactly that on their website, so what is it you don’t understand!

Put up something that says "we have nothing to post"?  LOL

6 hours ago, Jetdoctorbox said:

Thanks for your suggestions!  I’m really not worried about getting on the “boat”. It’s poor customer service that I worry about. 

What part of the customer service is poor?  I see noting poor in your original post, not even close.

15 hours ago, G.M.T. said:

Just seen a German report where a passinger from the Norwegian Escape died in a Jetski accident in Bermuda. So sad.

 

Article (in German):

 

https://www.schiffe-und-kreuzfahrten.de/news/norwegian-escape-passagierin-stirbt-bei-jetski-ausflug/186967/

 

PS. Sorry if this has already been posted, I did do a search before posting.

I just SAW that earlier.  Sad.

On 8/25/2019 at 9:07 AM, NCteacherlovescruising said:

We will be taking our second NCL cruise. Now that our parent are getting older, as are we, we have decided to purchase trip insurance for the first time. Do you purchase yours through NCL or a private company?  If you go private, why do you do so?  What all is covered?  If we can’t make the cruise for some reason would we get a refund?  What about hospital stays, being flown out, etc?  Thanks for any info you can provide in helping us make our decision. 

 

Second, we have the free flights included from Charlotte to Miami. I understand they will fly us out same day. I realize this will be a rather short flight, but what happens if we miss the ship due to flight delays. Are they responsible since they book our flights?  We’re considering paying extra ($25) to fly in the night before. If we pay that, can we chose our time?  We wouldn’t be able to go until late because I will have to work that day. Do we have to deal with our luggage at all, or do they take care of it for us?

 

Thanks in advance for any help you can provide. 

Very good questions.  They do not sound random at all.  Sounds more like you had specific questions you would like to have answers to...

We got insurance one time in all of our cruises and it happened to be the one time we had to have someone cancel.  We got it through NCL and had no issues with the claim.  What all is (and is not) covered is all based on what policy you buy.  Read the contract and details before buying anything as you well know.

Pay the $25 to fly in a day early.

Not random answers! 🙂

Restos?

15 hours ago, RaiderDuck said:

I could not conceive of tipping a hotel housekeeper anything, let alone $10/day. Think about it: the typical maid cleans 10 rooms or more a day. At $10/room, that means they would be making $100/day (tax-free) on top of minimum wage.

 

My wife is normally on the road 38-40 weeks a year for business and neither she nor her coworkers ever tips hotel housekeeping.

Tips are not tax free.  Also the minimum wage for tipped employees is much lower than the non-tipped minimum wage, although if tips do not make up the difference, the employer must adjust the base wage to do so.