UKstages

i do. i don't care much about having the convo again, but i do care if two unchaperoned teens or tweens or minors or whatnot are in the room next to me or down the hall from me... having late night parties, running down the hall, sitting in the hallways with their friends, making noise. and if the parents are not concerned about that, i'd think they'd be concerned if one of their kids had a medical emergency in the middle of the night or if the kids had too much to drink and had an accident or were horsing around on a balcony and something tragic happened. this is like parents who allow their kids to run up and down the aisle on an airplane... apart from annoying the hell out of other passengers, the parents have no concern for the safety of their own children! bottom line: NCL prohibits minors in a room by themselves. what part of that do people not understand? what is so unique or special about their situation that they think bending of the rules is appropriate? from NCL's FAQs: Traveling with Minors and Young Adults: Norwegian Cruise Line's policy dictates that a minor or young adult under the age of 21 must be accompanied in the same stateroom (or a connecting/adjoining stateroom) by a guest 21 years of age or older at the time of boarding. Minors – an individual under the age of 18 on the day of embarkation/boarding. Young Adult– an individual between the ages of 18 and 20. Note: Two people under the age of 21 may travel together in the same stateroom if they are a married couple and provide proof of marriage to a Norwegian Cruise Line representative at the pier prior to boarding.

the poster included an image of a package of "biscuits" in his post. it said "biscuit" on the label. but they were not doughy pillows made from all-purpose flour, baking powder, sugar, salt, butter, and milk... the kind you might pour sausage gravy over... the kind most americans would recognize as a "biscuit" ... the kind you keep referring to when you insist that americans know what "biscuits" are. these were cookies in european packaging, labeled as "biscuits." i was referring to that image in my post when i said that most americans would not know what a "biscuit" is. it was in no way a derisive comment about americans... simply an observation that, for the most part, what americans call a "cookie" is called a "biscuit" throughout the UK and parts of europe. that is all.

i stopped buying the so-called streaming package after one purchase years ago. there was no perceptible difference. that was pre-starlink. there have been scattered reports in this forum about how NCL internet managers on various ships (with starlink) have said not to bother buying the streaming service, as there really is not much of a difference. YMMV.

oh, my goodness. my comment wasn't random at all. it was in direct response to something that had been posted about how cruises will always be the better value compared to land-based vacations. the articles at those links demonstrated that cruise line executives are trying very hard to narrow the pricing gap and to raise cruise prices. and that is the opposite of what was expressed in the post to which i was responding. now that you've presumably read the articles at the links you requested, do you have any actual comment about that topic?

that certainly sounds like a sell out.

no. the poster is apparently gonging me... for dad jokes and bad puns. (post #26.)

when discussing how "full" the vibe is, it's important to define terms. when i say the vibe is at about 50% capacity, i mean that 50% of the available passes have been sold. i've never seen the vibe packed, with every chair taken, even when 100% of the vibe is sold. i've never seen it overwhelmed with crowds even on a sea day. so, when we say the vibe was "full," what do we mean? it was crowded and packed to an unusual degree? or that all the passes were sold? people go and do other things on the ship. not everybody hangs out six hours a day in the vibe. even when it's at full capacity (100% of passes sold), it's rarely "full."

this topic comes up from time to time. US dollars are not as universally accepted in europe, but that's really not the issue, the issue is nobody wants cash... of any kind. outside the USA (and increasingly within), cards rule. bank notes and coins are an afterthought, even for locals. very few places take cash. i never get local currencies anymore. i've just returned from a land-based holiday in europe. it was virtually impossible to spend cash... anywhere, except maybe a pay toilet. (and even most of those took cards). my pounds and euros have just as many frequent flyer miles as i do. i pack them up and take them with me and they always return home with me, largely unspent. last year i traveled on the prima to iceland, noway, the netherlands and belgium. cash was not only unnecessary everywhere i went, it was looked upon as an inconvenience by most shopkeepers and restaurants. nobody in the caribbean wanted local currencies. times have changed. it's important to travel with a chip-embedded debit card and at least one chip-embedded credit card that processes foreign transactions without a fee. if you absolutely must have cash for your seven hour port visit, go to ATM and use your debit card to take out ten or twenty dollars worth. it'll make a nice souvenir, because you will be headed home with most of it.

i sailed a month or so ago on the getaway, same itinerary (except we skipped bermuda). but i was also in the vibe, and my experience overall was quite similar to yours... noticeable cutbacks affecting food and service throughout the ship. long waits for seating in MDRs and o'sheehan's and the american diner. weather caused upper deck closures on two days. MDQ was great, broadway unplugged was very good, one comedian was good, the other not so much. we had a filipino magician... i assume that was the same guy you saw? he seems to be resident entertainment on the getaway. he was quite personable, but his tricks were pretty standard stuff. we also had a mentalist and there was, frankly, overlap between the magician and the mentalist (who is basically also a magician... anybody thinking otherwise should attend both shows on the same night and compare the answers to the "mind reading" that he allegedly does... they are magic tricks, folks). specialty dining was generally good, although cutbacks to quality and quantity at moderno were obvious. i only had two great meals in an MDR. and they were both surprising odd ball choices. the first was a stir fry pork dish that was just sensational. the second was a sirloin steak special on the last night of the cruise. (i have often claimed that you couldn't get a good steak in the MDR, based on my experience with the always available new york strip on the left side of the menu. the sirloin was quite good.)

well, if you've read my posts for any length of time on cruise critic, and i'm sure you haven't since you're new here, you'd know i don't respond well to folks asking for "proof." the truth is out there. google is our friend. but i'm happy to get you started. i found this article in about eight seconds: https://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Cruise-executives-lament-price-gap-with-resorts and here is another: https://thepointsguy.com/news/cruise-ship-travel-value-2024/ (also, not for nuthin', but i didn't actually quote anybody at all. i reported on industry trends and paraphrased what some had said.)

it depends on how busy the vibe is. i was recently in the getaway vibe and share your assessment about the use (or non-use) of the "second" bar. bottles were in plain view there, however, and the fridges were used. but the vibe was only at 50% capacity or so. i can only assume that both sides get used when the vibe is busier. i know both sides were used when i was on the joy last october.

the gap, while still there, is getting smaller. as for things continuing to change to "keep it that way," most major cruise lines point to the value of cruising compared to the all-in pricing of a land-based resort vacation. so they like that gap. but then they turn state's witness and talk out of two sides of their mouth at the same time. every cruise line is simultaneously raising prices and their CEOs and CFOs say the gap between land and sea vacations shouldn't be that wide. they want to close that gap and increase revenue... they believe their product is not priced properly and that they are not maximizing revenue and that prices should continue to rise. nothing in the hospitality industry is as it ever was. "the crew" doesn't keep the same hours as you. there are people working on the ship 24 hours a day... but they're not the same people working 24 hours consecutively. nobody would be deprived of sleep if asked to work at 4, or 5 or 6 am. their shift is the same duration regardless of when it starts.

i don't remember what my comment was in the deleted thread. probably something about lobsters. my new perspective: i guess NCL felt like they were shelling out too much money. it's also possible they are just channeling mary poppins... the haven may be supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, but those small lobsters are something quite atrocious. even so, my haven waiter still offers unlimited lobster tales. unfortunately, they all begin something like this..."once upon a time, there was a lobster..." thanks, kids. i'll be here all week. remember to tip your waitress, enjoy the veal.

unfortunately, both of these things can simultaneously be true. they did upgrade to starlink and it is still slow and painful, with throughput of about 2.5 mbps at its highest speed (for passengers)... they most likely upgraded broadband speeds for officers and some crew members, but have chosen to throttle speeds for pasengers.

i've been on ten different NCL ships. I keep coming back to the joy. It is one of the best ships in the fleet. there always seems to be a harmonic blend among executive management, crew and passenger interests. things just seem to "gel" properly all over the ship. dedicated crew, good food (within NCL limitations) from specialty restaurants and MDRs and lots of things to do. of course, you'll likely experience the NCL cutbacks that have become legendary on these boards, and whatever new ones rear their ugly heads before your cruise, but, overall, you could not pick a better ship for your return to NCL. i do find your enthusiasm for the manhattan cruise terminal somewhat misplaced. i love cruising out of there, too, but mostly because i can walk to the terminal. (i live a few blocks away.) i find the terminal itself lacks services and the contract employees who work there to be particularly clueless and many of them are on some sort of power trip, inventing and enforcing rules that don't exist and ignoring well established rules that do. most check-in agents insist on retaking your photo when you arrive, even though there is nothing wrong with the well lit one, with a clear background that you painstakingly uploaded and that was previously accepted by NCL during online check-in. when i asked about this on my last cruise out of NYC, the agent told me "taking a new photo is at my discretion and i don't like this one!"

lots of people want to go. few make it, as the port call is frequently canceled.

it's actually the haven menu, served to haven and suite guests. it's branded "haven" for both haven and suite guests and it's the full haven menu, no whammies. absolutely true. we were offered "Q" for dinner on embarkation day, but chose to eat at the haven restaurant.

a lot can happen between now and next march, but i just got off the getaway a few weeks ago. prepare to be underwhelmed by the food. cagney's was good. two dishes in the MDR were good. the biffet is a shadow of its former self... with lots of repeated items and poor quality items. o'sheehan's wasn't very good and they had limited selections (fewer items than the regular late night menu) and limited hours overnight.

yes, absolutely. i think about leaving cruise critic almost every day.

incorrect. incorrect. incorrect. correct/incorrect. lawd have mercy! this old chestnut again? this has been debunked and disproved many times.

i can only speak for the prima, but i assume the viva is the same. the freestyle coke machine (not plural, as there is only one) is located in the indulge food hall, and yes, you need to activate by using your key card. in my experience it works about as often as it doesn't. also, it doesn't have the full complement of coke brands or flavor choices... no caffeine free diet coke, for instance. also, the machine only works during indulge service hours. you can go in the indulge food hall at other times, but the machine is turned off and, quite often, they remove all the plastic glasses that live near the machine. so even if you could use it (you can't), you'd have nothing to put your fizzy beverage in, although there are often coffee cups nearby.

i've had great success emailing katty byrd. the office responded and provided a resolution unavailable onboard the ship. i've also had very good results writing members of congress. (snail mail letters, not emails, but i assume for the spirit of the question, that counts.)

there is no picking going on here. i was simply pointing out, as several others have, that - at least up to now - there has been no place to drop plates in the OL. it wasn't built to accommodate that. instead, it has a full service crew that goes about the lounge picking up after guests. that's the way NCL operates its observation lounges. if you have chosen to designate a place to drop your stuff, it's a testament to how good the crew is that they don't reprimand you, and that they pick your stuff up soon after its dropped. so, too, kudos to the passengers who don't roll their eyes when you attempt to return dirty plates to a relatively clean and sanitized food distribution area. i assure you there is no sarcasm here. i have never seen a "dirty plate drop off" in the observation lounge on any ship. and i said so... and i'm saying so again. i further went on to state that whoever might pick up plates at the "dirty plate drop off" area could surely also go about the lounge and pick up plates scattered hither and yon. that was the full extent of my post. if no "dirty plate drop off" area exists, then indeed it must be imaginary. of course, once you designate a place to drop your stuff, it is no longer imaginary... it's a physical place that you have chosen to drop your stuff. that doesn't mean that NCL has an area to drop used plates, utensils and half eaten food. why is everbody's knickers on cruise critic in such a twist?

assuming that there "is an appropriate spot to dump your stuff" (and i recommend the club balcony cabins for this, as they have a larger bathroom), what do you suppose happens to your stuff - and the plate it is on - once dumped? does it move to the kitchen through astral projection? probably not. i imagine a staff member comes along and picks it up... so, is it inconceivable that the same people who pick up the plates from this imaginary "stuff dump place" might also pick up plates that are scattered about the OL?

i don't think this is anything new, quite frankly. "deal or no deal" is quite often done in the atrium. i couldn't tell you whether it's typically in the afternoon or evening, chiefly because i have no interest. i think it had such a big impact on you because it was the evening atrium entertainment for a third of your cruise. "price is right," by the way, generates no revenue. it cost nothing to watch, nothing to be a contestant.