UKstages

just to be clear, when you say "haven staff members," it is typically the butler and the concierge(s) that we're talking about here... those haven staff members are not covered by the onboard service charge. others are covered, but you can tip anybody you like, including your cabin steward, who is covered by the OSC. those who choose to tip tend to tip the bartenders, the sun deck and pool attendants, the butler, concierge and cabin steward. others like to throw a little cash toward favorite wait staff in the restaurant and the host and/or maitre d'.

pizza quality varies widely, depending on ship and venue. la cucina is always pretty good. onda is excellent. a lot of people don't seem to like the buffet pizza on the prima. i never had it, as i only ate one breakfast in there. i did think the pizza in the getaway buffet was sensational in january and february. that was pretty much it for the buffet.. only their pizza was good.) room service pizza is not very good, any ship, any time... and it usally arrives room temp or cold. i still think they should turn the american diner venues into pizzerias open all day long, from 11 AM to midnight, or even later. i went in to la cucina one night on the getaway just for pizza. it was great. but as i sat there, i noticed something i had never seen before... they have LED lights in the pizza oven to cast an orange glow and make it look like it's a wood burning oven! it's a nice theatrical touch and - as i said - i had never noticed before.

many domestic USA plans include canada and mexico at no charge, but check your plan's benefits with AT&T: https://www.att.com/international/canada-roaming/

i really can't imagine them eliminating beef. i place this more in line with the urgent APB put out on donna summer recently due to the inability to book that show online. it's a fantastic notion, corroborated only by limited circumstantial evidence. i don't doubt for a moment that there was no beef for five days on the breakaway, as the OP recounts, i just don't think we can say that means that NCL has abandoned beef.

hard to say. i hit the "elite" level in CAS on my last trip and i am actually looking forward to a few decent benefits, including generous OBC and excursion benefit. so, here's hoping they only add to those benefits and not whittle them away. if they are planning on making cuts, it's bad form to do so without notice. airlines generally give a year's notice before making changes to their frequent flyer programs, even though they are not required to do so. even though i hit "elite" on my last cruise a month or so ago, my status is still not reflected on the website. i'm hoping that has more to do with their inefficiency than any negative changes associated with the program or the tier level. in any case, it's never been a "real" casino loyalty program with truly compelling benefits. maybe they got that message and are making changes designed to truly gain loyalty and provide meaningful benefits. things i'd like to see: • elimination of the onerous "admin fee"... no other line does it and it can add several hundred dollars to a "free" cruise. alternatively, i could live with elimination of the fee for higher level premium players. • true play-based offers and a human host (perhaps in miami or phoenix) capable of assessing your play. the hosts onboard only know one formula... how to rebate a small portion of your play for OBC on the last night of the cruise. they are very personable and very helpful, but they are not traditional hosts. • elite status recognition across the ship... unlike a land-based casino, if you're ruby or elite in CAS, it means absolutely nothing elsewhere on the ship. it would be great if your status got you preferred seating or free meals or a meaningful dinner with genuine officers. • play-based cabin upgrade offers • nonsmoking casinos across the fleet • online booking of comp trips, or at least the ability to see offers online • play-based slot dollar offers (slot play)... practically every other cruise line offers returning players free play... the only time i ever get that is during my birthday month... and its only $100. • play-based slot dollar incentives... on itineraries that are under-booked (such as transatlantic journeys) offer $500 or $100 in free play. these would typically be the same sort of itineraries they are already offering double latitude points on and for which there have been price drops. • status based rewards... when i win a hot seat, they give me $20 in downloadable free play. i'm putting through 75K or 100K coin on an average cruise and they're rewarding me with twenty bucks. that would be downright comical, if it wasn't so insulting. • stronger land-based casino affiliations, again with meaningful, perhaps reciprocal benefits. • status match with other cruise casino programs and land-based programs. this last one is not unique to casino guests, but higher level casino guests do tend to have OBC... • the ability for CAS guests to pre-book excursions and other shipboard expenses (such as the vibe), with the charge applied to OBC once onboard. alternatively, a meaningful comp would be vibe passes.

did the bun hold together till the burger was completely consumed? (asking for a friend.)

all the beans were spilled in the linked thread. no money changed hands, other than the cost of the vibe pass (for which i used OBC), but i had to ask somebody to make a call and the matter was not resolved until day 2. the GM was of no help whatsoever. they do, actually. and they are not revenue reasons. they are actually quite customer-focused reasons. • some people use OBC for cruise expenditures. some folks have a lot of it. NCL's IT infrastructure does not accommodate the pre-booking of services without applying payment, so you can't use OBC to book. • some people book their cruises late. some book as late as a week or so before the sailing. • some people haven't yet realized that the vibe can be booked in advance. some people haven't sailed since the old vibe "mad dash" on embarkation day was commonplace. NCL holds back some passes for sale on embarkation day to accommodate all these folks. there is no guarantee you will get in, just as if you board early on embarkation day, there's no guarantee you're going to be able to snag a 7 PM cagney's reservation. but if so many believe that NCL holds back restaurant reservations for embarkation day, why would these same folks think it inconceivable that they hold back vibe passes? except, of course, for those times that they are. as much many like to criticize NCL (myself included), they do some things right. on sailings for which the advance demand for the vibe is strong, that demand will not dissipate on embarkation day. so, while it's true there's a benefit to maximizing interest and getting the money upfront, there is also a benefit to making a limited number of passes available for purchase on each sailing. i have now had two recent experiences in which the agent told me that they always hold back passes for sale on embarkation day and that it was NCL policy to do so. as always with NCL, YMMV. but it's wrong to call it an urban myth if there are multiple reporrts of people buying the vibe on embarkation day. on my recent getaway sailing (1/27, out of new york) the american diner did serve complimentary buffet breakfast, just as the "old" american diner did before it was made into a complimentary lunch and dinner venue.

i would think hash browns or cookies would be welcomed by vegetarians, unless made with lard.

it's well established that you've found no value in the vibe with no basis... and now you've added luggage locks, too? a thief would not be rummaging through a bag in baggage claim? you're probably right about that. they would take it outside? because the outside is... what? somehow less crowded than the terminal? the outside has no security cameras? security personnel? baggage porters? arriving and departing passengers? in your fantasy, a thief would take a locked bag and then a small pair of pliers and then proceed, in full view of dozens or hundreds of people (including - potentially - the arriving passenger whose bag was just stolen) to open the bag and rifle through the contents taking what he needs and discarding the rest? that's just absurd... also he'd probably need a wire cutter, which is much heavier than a pair of pliers. (by the way, i removed a lock from one of my bags once when the mechanism failed and it took me nearly 20 minutes to cut through the lock.) most thieves would simply slice open a locked fabric bag. all of this would likely take place far from public view. frankly, there is no clear consensus from the internet peanut gallery on whether locks make bags more appealing or not. (but at least one study has shown that your car, however, is far more likely to be vandalized or stolen if left unlocked.) you'll find about as many people who say to lock your bags as those who don't. some think, as i do, that unlocked bags are far more appealing to thieves because they are hassle-free. others believe the lock itself makes the bag more appealing because, they suggest, there must be something valuable in the bag if somebody went through the effort to lock it. but the majority of folks know not to keep valuables in their bags... nobody is putting expensive jewelry or camera equipment in their checked bags. what thieves are likely to find are clothes and toiletries and the odd souvenir. by the way, another advantage to locked bags is to provide a deterrent to baggage handlers. at some airports, theft among baggage handlers is a very big problem. same as with baggage thieves at the carousel... all things being equal, baggage handlers won't mess with locked bags... they want to get in with no muss and no fuss. unlocked bags provide opportunities that locked bags do not.

all of NCL's most recent builds feature nonsmoking casinos, with smaller enclosed glass partitioned smoking casinos contained within. at the present time, you'll find them on the bliss, joy, encore, prima and viva. i haven't been on the ship, but my understanding is that the casino on the spirit (an older, smaller NCL ship) has also been made nonsmoking.

there's a tease on the NCL casinos at sea website page that says a "revamped rewards program" will launch in april: "get ready to take your status to the next level with a revamped rewards program launching on april 1, 2024!" tier credits and status both reset on april 1... that's nothing new... but they seem to be implying that the program will have either new tiers or new benefits. has anybody heard anything about this?

are you asking if most people tip at the MDR? some do, most don't. there is nothing to sign if you don't incur extra charges. even if you did, if you're looking to tip, it's probably best to tip in cash to ensure your server gets it.

i spoke to the same folks the chief spoke to. if you were a luggage thief, you'd not want to waste 1 or 2 seconds. also, it'd be more like 45 to 60 seconds. oh, and also, you wouldn't want to carry around a pair of pliers. what i actually said was that a lock was a visual deterrent. and that "all things being equal," a thief would prefer an unlocked bag. if you're going to steal a bag, you go for the one likely to cause you the fewest number of problems. same thing with automobiles. thieves prefer unlocked cars by a wide margin. gosh, you guys sure do like to focus on a minute detail of a rather helpful post. the point was never that a lock - any lock - can't be defeated. the point was to use a TSA lock if you don't want your bag damaged or destroyed by security personnel.

length of itinerary and in the case of meals, cabin level booked. years ago, they ran promos, wherein you picked only two or three of the FAS amenities, but it's been a long time since they did that... now they give them all to everybody who wants them.

passes are held back for sale on embarkation day, that's NCL's policy, unless the ship decides not to sell them for some reason. some of those reasons are valid. some are not. i was recently told the vibe was completely sold out, when in fact only 50% of the passes had been sold. spoiler alert! i got into the vibe. see the thread below and begin reading at post #25.

you're talking about two different things. an upgrade (using either cash or airline miles) can be made directly with the airline once you are assigned flights. or you can choose bulkhead seats or exit rows at no charge if you have status with the airline (neither of those are, strictly speaking, an upgrade). or you can deal with NCL directly and buy into the class of service you wish... pay more for what you want. they allow you to "customize" you air preferences. but you won't get BOGO air if you take that route.

no, the smart thieves target briggs and riley, rimowa, paravel, tumi and luis vuitton, as there is much more likely to be something of value inside, not to mention the bag itself is worth $600 - $2500. who are these people who so consistently give you such erroneous information?

as you mentioned, the reason to use a TSA-approved lock is so airport personnel can open your bag if your bag is singled out for inspection without your being present. you have a much better chance of your bag and your lock not being destroyed or damaged. the reason to use a lock - any lock - is simply as a visual deterrent. thieves are expedient opportunists. all things being equal, it's a lot easier to steal a bag with no locks than a bag with locks. that is all.

delighted to hear this! NCL is apparently making cutbacks and service reductions only on some ships. that is very good news indeed. please share: on which ship in december of 2023 did they do 2X daily housekeeping outside of the haven? on which ship in december of 2023 did they offer bailey's in the regular drink package, without an upcharge? on which ship in december of 2023 were you able to get veuve cliquot outside of le bistro? on which ship in december of 2023 did le bistro offer the filet without an upcharge? on which ship in december of 2023 were you able to get room service without paying a $9.95 fee? acknowledging that you may have prepaid your onboard service charge, on which ship in december of 2023 did NCL charge the same OSC as the DSC charged the previous year? on which ship in december of 2023 did you find towel animals in your cabin? on which ship in december of 2023 did they offer smoked salmon in the buffet? on which ship in december of 2023 did they have the same number of staff members onboard that they had the previous year? on which ship in december of 2023 did they offer comparable entertainment to that which they offered a year earlier? now, it's entirely possible that none of these declines in product or service affected you. you may not care about any of them, which is, perhaps, why you may have noticed no such sharp declines. that doesn't mean they haven't taken place. i can assure you that they have. whether you've noticed them or whether they impact you and yours only influences your personal value proposition when evaluating NCL as a viable cruise line for you. it has no bearing on the stark reality... objectively, all these things have occurred. candidly, a lot of folks are not as forgiving - or as blind to the changes - as you.

similarly, i am always surprised at the number of people who share their exact cruise dates, itineraries and cabin numbers here on cruise critic before they go on their journeys.

the absence of pre-booking options for "summer" is temporary. affected sailings going forward are those occurring from march 15, 2024 through june 13, 2024 (inclusive). NCL has offered no explanation. make of that what you will.

that's possible, but how many drinks a day do you drink? most alcoholic drinks are $12 - $15. so, a $15 drink will cost you $18 with gratuity added. if you have one drink and a soda, you've covered the daily gratuity on the beverage package. if you have two alcoholic drinks, you've surpassed it. it's abundantly clear that NCL allows wine to be brought onboard (and with no corkage fee if you have a beverage package). its clear to most that "alcohol" in NCL's contract means "spirits."

most of the negativity comes from people who have had different experiences than you, particularly from those who have been stuck in rooms with unusual noises caused by a build defect. others have had less than satisfying encounters with members of the executive team. it's possible to go on the prima and have a lovely time and not encounter either of these things. it's also quite possible that a guest will experience problems. sometimes, the problems are so overwhelming that they tip the balance the other way.

whether the bag has been returned is not a reliable indicator of whether the bag was stolen. lots of ordinary people mistakenly take things or find things and never make the effort to return them. also, if the bag was taken mistakenly, once through customs and immigration, the person who took your bag can not go back the other way to return it and may have simply left it outside the terminal, in which case, it may be treated as any other lost item and may take a few days to be processed.

yes.