UKstages

fair warning: it’s really a cruise next cocktail party. you’ll be hit with sales pitches. years ago, before almost everybody had a drink package, a free cocktail party meant something and was more worthwhile. now, not so much.

the coffee and croissants are free. there is a $4.95 service fee. there didn’t use to be (for breakfast), but now there is.

there are no “white parties” on NCL ships any longer. typically, there is a “glow” party. leave the fancy sleeveless number at home.

the cruise line bears all responsibility for the performance of its contractors and subcontractors. that doesn’t mean the cruise line can’t sue or negotiate with those contractors behind the scenes to hold them liable for something. but in terms of dealing with customers, the cruise line is on the hook for failure to provide a necessary service or a product defect. if an outsourced firm (that the customer doesn’t even know exists) makes a mistake, the cruise line is responsible for that mistake. i’m not saying compensation is due in this case, that’s an entirely different question… just that NCL is responsible for its upgrade program, regardless of which entity processes those upgrades.

there is a difference between being grumpy and nitpicking… and being passionate about customer service and communication and wanting to warn others about service gaps on a particular ship or a particular cruise line. in my case, i wrote extensively about a defect that occurred in the build of the prima that has left the ship with a certain number of rooms with persistent and unusual noise problems that will ruin most people’s vacations, if they are unlucky enough to get one of those rooms. (i’ve also written many words of praise about various aspects of the prima.) I received the typical responses here, with some telling me my criticism as most unwelcome… on cruise critic. as for tax forms, the laws haven’t changed since the 1970s and are hopelessly outdated. (they should be updated to reflect inflation… when the rules were first drafted, a thousand dollars was an extraordinary win. it no longer is. also, the highest denomination machine was 25 cents.) a W2-G is issued for slot wins of $1200 or more. table game wins and poker are treated differently and generally depend on whether your win is at least 300 times your bet, which is why many people don’t get a tax form from playing poker or blackjack when they would get one for winning the same amount on slots. the threshold for tournaments is $5000. those who win non-cash prizes of $600 or more are generally issued a 1099-MISC, not a W2-G.

well, there are two ports in reykjavik and larger ships dock at skarfabakki… and there are no services there. there’s not really even a terminal there. just a small structure/security checkpoint that you walk through. there might be restaurants within a kilometer or two, but there is nothing at the port… perhaps an ATM. there might be a small souvenir kiosk that has a pot of coffee and some candy bars, i dunno. there are also a few industrial buildings and warehouses and a bus company. again, the only thing to do at the port is stand in line - outside - with 3,000 of your new friends.

there are virtually no services at the reykjavik port. i didn’t embark there, but when I went out to explore in between my back-to-back cruises, there was just a long line of 3,000 people waiting to check in; there were no restaurants or services or seating areas that i could see. it did not look like a very hospitable port for those embarking.

typically, there is no curfew and you are free to come and go.

all cruises so far have called on gerainger. that's where this floating walkway is. this thread was about isafjörður. then it took a slight detour to discussion of gerainger. none of the prima cruises have gone to isafjörður yet... the port call has always been canceled for the past three or four weeks. so, where are you scheduled on the 7th? isafjörður or gerainger? gerainger is pretty much a sure thing. it's isafjörður that has become problematic.

i forget which deck (maybe 4? maybe 5?), but i saw signs for tenders during some of my port visits when i walked off the ship. we didn't tender at any port, but i did see signs for when they presumably do use tenders.

um, yes, that would be pretty bad. note to self: if trying to convince somebody to check their bags with a porter: on't-day ention-may e-thay uggage-lay in-ay e-thay ocean-ay. on NCL, you're actually given your keycard onshore at check-in. in my experience, they are often locked. oh, gosh, i'm not hearing that at all. they camped out at one of the available spots NCL made available for them to camp out at on embarkation day. perhaps they have limited mobility and can't walk very well, i don't know. i don't think they chose to inconvenience their fellow passengers. i think they made a conscious decision to not carry their bags around the ship.we have countless other posts on this board where people recommend not toting their luggage around. perhaps they were being considerate. their bags were probably loaded with electronics and medication and other necessities and may have been too heavy to lug around the ship. we just don't know. and no matter where they decided to camp out, whether it be on a sun deck or at a bar or in the buffet, they would be occupying a space that others could use. again, it's embarkation day and you've got 3 or 4,000 people unfamiliar with the ship, roaming about the ship, trying to make the best of it. \ there are a number of potential reasons, from malignant melanoma, to rosacea, to cataracts, to basal cell carcinoma, to squamous cell carcinoma to hair damage. and some people are just not sun people.

part of the problem with southampton is that NCL insists on referring to it as "london" (which it is not) and so many assume it is an easy and quick transfer to the airport (which it is not). and that may influence some people's choice of flights. when you book the the NCL transfer from southampton, they will not let you book it if your flight is prior to 12 pm, if the ship is scheduled to arrive at 6 am. i assume if the ship is scheduled to arrive at 5 am, they would not let you book a transfer if your flight is before 11 am, and so on.

posted erroneously in wrong thread! comment removed.

absolutely true. but my reference was to a popular song from the 1920s (no, i'm not that old), the premise of which was that the french got it right with regards to freewheeling attitudes towards sex and drinking compared to then current puritanical attitudes and censorship and prohibition in the united states. the phrase became part of popular culture and is still used by many. it's equivalent to saying, "hey, a heck of a lot of people are saying this and that... there must be something to it... they can't all be wrong." the phrase was so entrenched in american popular culture that it was used a couple of years later as the title of the cole porter musical "fifty million fenchmen."

gerainger is listed as a tender port, but the port recently introduced a floating walkway which extends to the ship. a standard gangway is used in conjunction with that. they only have one of those floating walkways, so it is possible if more than one ship is in port that the other ship(s) would have to tender.

amex needs to know from your travel history that you cruise. you won’t “qualify” for the NCL amex offer if you haven’t made a cruise related purchase - on any cruise line - on your amex card. pro tip: even if amex isn’t your preferred credit card for NCL purchases, charge something, anything on NCL.com to amex. could be a deposit or an excursion or a final payment. once having done that, you can go back to using another card, such as the BOA NCL mastercard, if that’s what you prefer. a few months later, you may well get an NCL offer from amex.

miami, we have a problem. do you really want your valued guests walking off the ship telling people they were bamboozled by NCL? what were they thinking? in the same vein, why not rename “taste” and “savor?” going forward, why not call the two MDRs “nickel” and “dime?”

it kind of depends on how many are sailing. if you’re traveling solo, there is plenty of room in the closet for luggage storage, particularly if you nest your carry on in your larger bag. there is under bed storage, but it is visible, as you point out. most people use that, I reckon. i do not believe your steward will take your luggage and store it outside the room, on the prima or any other ship. my experience is based on sailing in both club balcony and balcony cabins on the prima.

just so y’all know… posts can display differently on different devices in different fonts. when i viewed this thread for the first time on my computer, the OP’s post looked perfectly normal and was completely readable. hence my comment. when i viewed it this morning on my ipad, it appeared in a highly stylized font that was indeed very hard to read. i suspect that I don’t have that font - whatever it is - installed on my computer, so a default font was used. my comment was not meant as a snide retort... it was an accurate comment on my personal user experience. walk a mile in another man’s moccasins, folks… not everything is always as it first appears… two different things can simultaneously be true.

for simplicity and relative ease, you can’t beat the NCL bus (coach) to the airport. the math is a little different for two people, rather than a solo, but it still makes sense, even though it’s not the cheapest transportation option. the big factor is the luggage… if you’re traveling light, then public transport by coach or rail might make more sense.

disembarkation / transfers i’m theoretically entitled to priority disembarkation several ways through several NCL programs, but unless i’m in the haven and have a concierge escort, i almost always do the self-assist disembarkation. it’s just simpler. but this time i had a question… i had booked an NCL transfer to heathrow. (i didn’t have a flight; i was staying on for five nights in london, but it was the simplest - although not the cheapest - way to get to london. once at the airport, i would take the tube to complete my journey.) so i went to the guest services desk the night before to ask which color tag i should use… “self-assist” requires no luggage tag and runs from 7 am – 8 am. “heathrow transfers” required a light blue tag and began at 8 am. can i walk off the ship at 7 am or as soon as disembarkation began? “oh, no, sir, you have a heathrow transfer. you must wait until that group is called and you must use a light blue tag.” uh, OK. i queued up and got in the self-assist line the next morning and was among the first off the ship (although disembarkation was delayed due to a gangway issue and they changed the deck for disembarkation because of it). once on the ground, there were folks who directed me to the transfer busses. clearly, they were expecting some self-assist guests to also be transfer guests. i was on the first bus to LHR and we left long before the light blue tags were probably even called. this is yet another example of how NCL staff are incapable of conceptual thinking or thinking on their feet or realizing when something doesn’t fit an established policy. oh, you’re self-assist and you have a transfer? i don’t have instructions for that. you can only be self-assist or heathrow transfer. i don’t know what to tell you, so i’ll just make something up. i also asked the folks who handle shorex if i needed a ticket for my heathrow transfer. apparently, they don’t handle transfers. they sent me back to guest services. they handle airport transfers. i explained to the guest services rep that i hadn’t received a ticket yet and i was then told i didn’t need one… that “they have a list.” i was skeptical, but it turns out it’s true that i didn’t need a ticket. apparently, i didn’t need to be on any list, either. (i also didn’t need no stinkin’ badges.) nobody asked my name and nobody checked a list. disembarkation / transfers: C

invoice yesterday, i updated my other post about the prima… (you know, the one in which i talk about cabin noise and how i had to sleep on the bathroom floor? i encourage you to read that, if you haven’t already!) i updated that post to talk about the final bill process and how the descriptions they use on the bill are misleading or confusing. no matter where you shop, the bill lists your charge as “gift shop.” if you buy a piece of jewelry, it’s a “gift shop” purchase. if you buy a bottle of liquor, that’s a “gift shop” purchase, too. it’s crazy. and they bill you for the “daily” service charge, yet those charges are often bundled two or three on one day, while other days have no charges. it’s nonsensical for anybody trying to figure out if their bill is accurate. and in that post, i detailed how they mistakenly refer to the $50 excursion benefit as a “reversal of credit.” huh? a “reversal of credit” is a charge! somebody needs to go in and look closely at how NCL communicates to its customers… everything from the website to the dailies to the invoice. so many phone calls and visits to guest services and social media discussion could be eliminated if they just used the communicated clearly. words have meaning! and for heavens’ sake… look at the documents and form letters you’ve been using for years and check them for accuracy and rewrite them! interestingly, the “you’ll be leaving soon” flyer continues to state that “an itemized statement of your onboard account will be delivered to your stateroom after 5:00 am on disembarkation morning.” that’s what it says! every passenger is told that the day before the cruise ends! it goes on to say that “your charges will be billed automatically and it is not necessary to go to the guest services desk.” unless of course, you’ve been given an official NCL document that says you’ll be getting an itemized statement delivered to your door... and none arrives! can you imagine the confusion that causes, especially for first time cruisers? how many years has it been since NCL routinely delivered a statement to your door? and yet they still print that and tell customers that they do. invoice: C-

covid protocols / guest hygiene and manners i’d say fewer than 5% of passengers wore masks. and probably about the same percentage of crew. no problem there. it’s a personal choice. and while there is very little chance of dying from covid for most people, there is a good chance of catching a cold or flu or covid from 3,000 of your newest and closest friends, many of whom have personal hygiene habits that aren’t much better than some of the crew. both of my roll calls contain post-cruise reports of people getting sick. and the familiar “covid cough” could be heard throughout the ship and on excursion busses. you’re in a shared public space, ferchrissakes! cover your mouth if you’re going to cough or sneeze. don't pickup food with your hands... use the provided serving utensils! don't lick your fingers or pick your nose and then pick up a serving utensil such as a ladle or tongs! don’t lick your fingers or pick your nose and then pick up something on the buffet and then put it back! i caught covid on a cruise on the joy in september of 2022, so i chose to wear a mask on the prima in the theatre and in crowded venues and in shops onshore. i did not come down with any illness on this eleven-day cruise. guest hygiene and consideration for others: C

hygiene can we talk? there’s no other way to say this, except stating simply and factually that a small number of crew members could benefit from bathing more frequently… say, on a daily basis, instead of only two or three times a week. some cabin attendants, some servers, some shop clerks are rather, um, spicy. i’ll just leave that there. oh, there is this, on a related note: some could also use a breath mint or practice better oral hygiene, as well. crew hygiene: B

allergies no, i don’t have any, thanks for asking for the two thousandth time. i applaud NCL’s efforts to cater to everybody’s allergies and sensitivities. it is admirable. but rather than ask this question at every meal service, wouldn’t it be better to note this on a guest’s key card and in the computer system, so it gets flagged, just like use of FAS dining credits gets flagged? it’s 2023… do they really have to ask every passenger at every meal whether they have an allergy? adherence to allergy protocols: A asking every guest at every meal if they have allergies: F