UKstages

normally you do on NCL ships... but not on the joy.

the joy is unique among the NCL fleet in that they have downgraded all the suites. i was in an SC suite a few weeks ago. i got a letter from a concierge asking me to contact him if i needed anything, but other than that, no proactive reach out. so they say you have access to a concierge, but you have to really work hard to get anyone's attention. i received no snacks, other than those delivered by virtue of my relationship with the casino. there is no longer a butler for these suites. what you'll get is a very large room (by cruise ship standards), in a premium location, with a good sized bathroom with shower/tub combo, plenty of storage and a nearly double wide balcony, large enough for a table and chair and lounger. that's pretty much it.

that's just the thing... we're not IN the good old days anymore. businesses that adapt to the new normal will survive; those that don't, won't. you can't run a cruise line - or a lemonade stand - using the same business strategies, budget or contingency plans you had in 2019.

i don't know... thirty years, give or take a year or so? there are may seasonal businesses that operate this way. it is not uncommon for businesses in resort towns to book 80% or 90% of their revenue in just four months. they operate at a loss in any given month beyond that, but still turn a profit on an annual basis. many successful broadway shows run for years on the 100%+ revenue from sold out weeks and months during the summer and holiday seasons and school breaks; they coast by with sub par revenue and even deep losses during the lean weeks and months. "phantom of the opera" has done exactly that for 30 years and only just now announced it was closing (after a run of 35 years)...because the weeks with losses became more frequent and consistent than the weeks the show played at a profit. it can't male money on broadway anymore because the profits from the good weeks no longer exceed the vast losses from the bad weeks. without a doubt, NCL is losing money right now. but when they make money, they make money hand over fist. and so the end of this story is still to be written. if they have no contingency, and they can't monetize their assets and market their product appropriately and adapt to the new normal, and they can't get by during the lean times with the bright shiny promise of tomorrow's revenues, then, yes, they will absolutely suffer and die a miserable death. but that does not yet appear to be happening. "economics" is more than just red and black ink.

more than one appetizer? some appetizers are ridiculously small, but well worth ordering. (i'm looking at you, pan seared bay scallops at le bistro.) it's entirely conceivable you might want a little summin' summin' on top of that.

oh, gosh, i fell into your trap, didn't i? i answered your question, innocently believing you didn't understand what i was saying, even though the meaning was clear from the context. apparently you just wanted to pounce and pontificate. in the before times, i traveled internationally a dozen times a year or more. i'm intimately familiar with the way this works and i don't really need to be edumicated by anybody, thankyouverymuch. i bend over backwards to preserve my global entry privileges and that is exactly why i've asked these questions many times, many ways. not to one CBP agent, but a bunch of them. and it was always prefaced by saying "i just want to know... i don't want to do anything wrong here." your characterization of these agents as friendly and/or inexperienced is disingenuous at best. i know full well what i'm doing and so do they. the advice i gave is sound and based on personal experience. nobody at CBP is interested in a sealed bottle of maple syrup or a nutrition bar or a bottle of ribena concentrate. they're just not.

u.s. customs and border protection.

yes, platinum meal coupons can now be used at virtually every restaurant fleet-wide. but i thought there was some talk here in the forum about one restaurant being excluded (onda, perhaps?) because the wine list was incompatible with the platinum terms. is that not the case?

that is correct. platinum meal coupons have different restrictions than the FAS meal plans.

prior to sailing? you can tell if cabins are available by making multiple mock bookings, but there really is no reliable or definitive way to tell the number of passengers that will be sailing with you on departure day.

my belief is that the smoked meats served in "Q" onboard many NCL ships are not smoked or cooked from scratch on the ship... they are likely smoked in some land-based central kitchen and reheated and "finished" just before serving. i don't think they're using microwaves, however. as for the OP and what she might need a microwave for... i think it's more about when, not what. my sense is that many items from the kids menu and the buffet will indeed have appeal, but the hunger pangs might occur when the buffet or other venues are closed. that's my take.

i'm pretty sure they had uncooked beef. it doesn't take long to go from raw to medium rare. ask them to get you medium rare beef, if that's what you want! if you do, and the gaucho points to something on the skewer that's too well done, say, "no, i want it much redder than that" or "that's cooked too much." they hear this all the time and they are prepared to answer the call... they aim to please. presumably, you were in the restaurant for at least an hour. they easily could have brought you whatever you preferred. it is, after all, the operating principle behind a churrascaria. i've had really bad experiences at some moderno locations, but it was never because food was unavailable. they were usually lapses in service. there has always been more meat than anyone should be allowed to consume, available in what ever temperature one desired. let them know what you'd like. you are truly the captain of your fate and the master of your soul. also, for the record, they're probably not using charcoal at moderno.

uh, no, that wasn't the reason,.

the need for tim depends on where you live, i guess. there are actually over 600 tim horton's locations throughout he USA (with over 200 of those located in new york state.)

i've had good and bad experiences at most of these restaurants, depending on the ship. cagney's has been sensational or ordinary. moderno has been phenomenal or rudimentary. le bistro has been uniformly wonderful, however, regardless of the ship... it's usually the best meal of the voyage. as for the meat temperature at moderno, you can get whatever you want and it's usually perfectly cooked... ask the gaucho (the guy who serves your meat off of large skewers) for what you prefer... if he doesn't have it (and he usually does, off a different part of the skewer), he will send over the guy who does. same thing goes for your preferred meat... if you favor one more than the other and want more, they'll send over a gaucho to give you that particular meat or cut. moderno also has the best salad bar on board and many non-meat eaters will go to moderno just for the salad bar.

very disappointed to stumble upon this thread revealing all the secrets of the thermal spa. the first rule of thermal spa is that there is no thermal spa.

yes, you can. reserve online or call within the specified time frame for your tier level or cabin. or reserve once you get on board. the reservation is independent of the payment method. you give them the coupon when you arrive at the venue.