ChiefMateJRK

I may not (probably do not) understand, but I assumed that going from Newark to Chicago to get to Athens was a crappy itinerary from the start. Anybody who has flown knows that layovers are the number one failure point in getting from point A to point B reliably. I had one experience with NCL booking my air (to/from Honolulu). The departure itinerary had a very short layover at LAX, that resulted in us having to do the OJ thing through the airport. It was on a puddle jumper that apparently had to wait for the big boys to clear out before they could get a gate. Flight was on time but we sat for about a half hour before being able to pull into the gate. The return flight was on time, but on time meant it departed from HI at around 9 PM and had us getting home when it was daylight (yes, next morning). We just had our second HI cruise and booked a non-stop that was uneventful. That's my lesson learned. I'm not giving NCL air a second chance.

Back when I was at Megacorp, I told people there were three things I would never let anybody else do for me: a) raise my kids b) hire staff for my department c) make my travel arrangements Well, the kids are grown, Megacorp is far in the distance in the rear view mirror, and I still refuse to let anybody else make my travel arrangements. All it takes is one crappy experience like the OP unfortunately went through to make this crystal clear. Hopefully others can learn this without going through it themselves.

99.89% of folks just wear whatever they had on to dinner. IIRC, for this reason, dress codes are ignored on embarkation day. Do you really hop on a cruise ship and head straight for the pool? I don't think I've ever seen this.

If there is any leather, it's a sandal that is fully compliant. I'm probably not ready to die on this hill, but I'll certainly debate it ad nauseum.😵‍💫

Why You Shouldn't Worry About Your Cruise Ship Tipping Over On Your Next Voyage (msn.com)

I tested it last November with a passport expiring in February. No problems.

Sounds like the airlines. They overbook, counting on an expected number of no-shows. Of course, their process for dealing with it seems much more fair.

Yes, I've been around this forum long enough to know that. It reminds me of those posts where somebody saw the slurry discharge and claimed that NCL was pumping raw sewage into the ocean. 🤣 That was a classic. That said, the leftover food winds up in the ocean which was my only point. I asked what the other poster would do with it, to which I don't believe I've received a response.

I have no idea what you are talking about.

It wasn't a hack. There were signs indicating the overflow seating. All you discovered was that very few other passengers read the signs. There are similar set ups on the other ships. I just got off the Spirit where Onda was the overflow. Did people read the signs? Of course not.

Isn't that exactly the same thing???

Unlike some things with NCL, this seems pretty clear: Required Travel Document and Information For Cruise Vacations (ncl.com)

What would you do with it?

Are you folks claiming that NCL has a blanket requirement that you can't board a cruise anywhere if your passport is expiring in less than six months?

I've never been in a jail cell, so I have no idea if this is true. It's not an expensive vacation when you are in an inside cabin.😎 Yep. I do that a lot regardless of cabin type. Just not when I'm sleeping or in the shower.

Yeah. It's sometimes difficult to separate those who are part of the problem from those who are part of the solution.🤣

I certainly have. That's the movie where the poor people in steerage are having tremendous fun and the rich people in first class are miserable trying to out-snob each other. Hmmm.... Fortunately, NCL doesn't have lockable gates to keep the steerage passengers "where they belong." Of course, I still can't get my keycard to take me to the Haven....😎 I'll just have to stay put until @complawyerinvites me up for that Scotch.

I didn't! No. Google beat you to it. Nice try though.🤣

I guess IDNRC. It happens....more every year.😵‍💫

Well, we're all different and in different situations. In fact, I don't even own a couch!😮 That said, the only things I really look forward to returning to in my home are my cat and my Stressless chair. My back is really about the only part of me that doesn't enjoy cruising. Stressless® furniture | Ekornes disclaimer: that's not really me

You may have missed this part...

I'm guessing you got special treatment, based upon your posts in the tipping threads.🤣

They've had at least one other Latitudes cruise like this. IIRC, the latitudes members got some novelties (i.e. trash) and maybe a special party or event. There were posts here. Since I really don't remember the specific perks, I'm guessing that they really didn't amount to much. Maybe Ambassadors got to sit on some kind of a throne or something.

I didn't realize that all chairs on a ship's deck were not deck chairs. I guess I learned something on the internet today! 😎

I sailed an Eastern/Southern Carribean on the Pearl in Nov/Dec with a passport that expired in February. IIRC, the ABC islands required a passport, but none had the six month rule so we were fine. I immediately sent the passport in for expedited renewal as soon as we got back, and had our new passports by the first week in January. Our next cruise was in April, so I likely would have been fine without paying for the expedited processing. That said, I'll always just pay for expedited, because it's cheap insurance in case the whole process gets bogged down by some world crisis (real or made up).