belchro22

6 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

My understanding was that only hard liquor was forbidden, not wine. Regardless, assuming one had availed himself of the 6 bottles of BYOB (with no corkage fee), he could still have his nice glass of red. Tempest in a teapot, methinks.

Your understanding is wrong. No alcohol at all. And you should not have to bring your own bottle to an open bar. I also think it's presumptuous of you to accuse those on the cruise that their dissatisfaction is unjustified. If you want to go on believing NCL fine but no need  to berate others for their complaints. 

Really? Do you think that the UK has targeted NCL for special treatment?  There have been numerous posts here and on Facebook of folks on other cruise ships in the same ports not having this issue. Also numerous posts about the responses from customer service. Someone at NCL has screwed up but still spewing the same excuse that it's UK law.

8 minutes ago, DCGuy64 said:

I mentioned this thread to my wife and she just rolled her eyes. I think her exact words were "if you can't go without alcohol for one day, you have bigger problems." 🤣

Again it's not strictly about the alcohol or a few hours. These folks are on multiple UK port cruises.

It's about being lied to about the reasons for the ban.

It's like buying a specialty dining package and going to Cagney's and being told they aren't allowed to serve you a steak but they can give you a burger.

It's about the fact that even if you have the free at-sea drinks package you've paid about $42 a day in gratuities on drinks you can't have.

It's about the false advertising of "Free unlimited Open Bar"

It's like bringing a bottle of wine to a BYOB and still being charged for wine the restaurant didn't provide. 

7 minutes ago, flamingo_fancies said:

It didn't happen in Belfast. Only Southampton and Portland

Can we hope that maybe the issue was resolved by the time ship reached that port?🙂

Can anyone say if they are allowing people to bring their own bottles of wine on ship on embarkation in Southampton?

3 minutes ago, rattla said:

I’ve contacted them to ask for clarity on the situation and to see if this will be resolved for future sailings.

Could you please post the email where we can also contact them?

3 hours ago, genealogyfan said:

You can actually put fake information in your mock booking. Add fake name, email, DOB, etc.. and then hit "continue" and it'll give you the total final amount.  If you don't want to connect the mock booking to your name/account just open a browser window in "incognito window" and do the fake/mock booking.

I understand that you can probably do that but I'm trying to compare numerous cruises before making a final choice. Very inconvenient to have to go through that process for each one. I believe this is a bad decision by NCL. Makes a mockery out of mock bookings.😃

I haven't found this mentioned here but I notice this past week that when I do mock booking to compare cruises on NCL website it no longer includes the full price before checkout. A subtotal is given excluding taxes, fees, and port expenses. States they will be added at checkout. You must then add all passenger information.  

We were on the Sky in March. There was a sale of Tshirts and other items last day of the cruise but not much advertising. Items are now $15. 

Thank you all. I'll check out the info!

Does anyone have any recommendations for private transfers from the cruise port to the airport in Barcelona? Our flight is at 11 am so don't want to do the NCL transfers which may not get us there early enough. TIA 

I had an issue with making dining reservations. I called the reservation desk at this number  866-234-7350  Got the problem resolved in minutes.

6 minutes ago, jrlamour said:

You were? We weren’t allowed to use our shore excursion credit as it stated it didn’t apply to equipment rentals which I was told the clam shells were. Good to know for next time.

We were told the same. The price was $39. We ended up renting an umbrella and 2 lounges for $29 instead. We had perfect sunny weather. We were glad we didn't go for the clam shells. They are all lined up in a row so if you don't have a front row one your view is the back of someone else's clamshell. 

We just returned from a 9-day cruise on the Sky. It is a smaller ship than any we had previously sailed. We had an Oceanview room on the 9th deck. Small room but perfect for 2 of us. Would definitely not want 4 of us in there. The staff was superb. the buffet area is tight so often there were long lines. We only used it for lunch and often just grabbed something from the great outdoors. Spent lots of time there. The pool area was very crowded on the one sea day. There is no O' Sheehan which we missed.  They instead have The Local which was lovely and had great drinks but food was only served there after 6 pm. The Atrium is also small compared to most ships. The two main dining rooms were excellent. We mostly ate in the Crossings. The dress code was casual and shorts were allowed in all venues except Le Bistro and the Crossings. We ate in Cagneys, Le Bistro, and La Cucina. Excellent meals and service in all. The Let Us Rock You show in the theater was great. The same group put on an American Idol-style show on a different night which was also excellent. We didn't really care for the comedian on board. We spent many after-dinner evenings in the Bliss Lounge where there was always something going on. Jeffy and James were the best cruise directors we've ever had on any ship. Overall we liked the ship for this particular itinerary and came home with great memories. I would not take book it with small children or even teens as there didn't seem much to do for them. 

Thank you all so much for the information and varied experiences. . 😊

We are about to make Sapphire status. I see that dinner with Officers is included as a perk. Can anyone fill us in as to how that works? Where do you eat and is the meal complimentary?

6 hours ago, belchro22 said:

We've skipped ports in the past and received $10 credit. Hardly worth worrying about.

6 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

times 3,000+ passengers

Who more than likely ate and drank more than $10 worth while on ship instead of in port.

6 hours ago, Beer Belly said:

times 3,000+ passengers

Who more than likely ate and drank more than $10 worth while on the ship instead of in port.

We've skipped ports in the past and received $10 credit. Hardly worth worrying about.

Thinking of booking it. Can  who's actually stayed there fairly recently give any info. Where to eat nearby also.

I had the same problem. I called this number 866-234-7350 It only took a few minutes to have all the dining reservations done. Just have your cruise reservation number ready.

Wishing you all a safe return. I see you are from New Zealand and not on South Africa's ban list. Hope that helps in your travels. 

The Norwegian Jewell is also in transit after being turned away from ports.

I've been in contact with a friend who is currently on the Norwegian Spirit. They have had at least 19 sea days so far with many cancelled ports. They are currently heading

to Capetown , South Africa where they were to disembark on March 22. The South African government has declared a state of disaster and has declared a ban on

travel from 8 countries including the United States as well as closed most ports. Needless to say , neither she or anyone on board, knows what is to happen next.

She had mentioned yesterday that they had run out of fresh vegetables and were being served canned ham as supplies were low. Nobody on the ship is sick but

obviously worried.

2 hours ago, teCh0010 said:

I'm hearing that Pride of America in Hawaii and Star from south america to Orland departures this weekend are canceled. 

I've seen about Pride of America but can't find any reports about the Star to Orlando for this weekend.

So now elderly folks have to go into a doctor's office where there are probably sick folks to prove they are healthy. At least they were when they walked into that waiting room.😆