maja651

Incorrect. Item is not on NCL Prohibited Item List

 

https://www.ncl.com/prohibited-items

My bad was sent to the naughty room in March because of my electric portable fan. FYI

I pretty much feel the same way...

Just curious, have you ever stayed in a suite? Seems to me these kinds of responses are from those who have never stayed in a suite. Jealous maybe?:*

I feel as though someone requiring services of a "butler" will never be fully satisfied and will always have something to complain about.

I completely disagree. Although we don’t ‘require’ butler service, we have gotten used to it when cruising as we always cruise in a suite. Rarely have I ever complained about butler service. Maybe we have just been lucky and had exceptional butlers or maybe our friendliness and open communication with the butler letting him know what we want has helped us, but I can’t remember a bad butler.

OP - I hope you are still on the ship and get this butler fixed...either by talking to the concierge or hotel director if necessary. We enjoy breakfast and some lunches and dinners in the suites and find it to be one of the most used and valued suite perks for us. We love cruising, but also love our alone time, so meals in the room is important to us.

Dominica and Martinique were taken off our Dawn cruise scheduled for March 2019. Replaced with St. Thomas. :rolleyes:

we have never gotten a towel animal on the first night. they are EXHAUSTED as turnover day is a very long and busy day, as every room is fully stripped, cleaned, made up for the next group coming in. they also have to deliver luggage, etc.

 

ive never heard or read on here that GV guests get a free specialty on their last night.

We got a free specialty dinner on the Star when we were in the GV but I don’t remember when we were in the villa on the Jewel.

Out should be around 10 minutes max from your hotel to the Pan Am pier. If traffic within OSJ gets heavy it could take a few minutes longer. Rate is fixed for taxis and should be $12 one way for up to 5 persons (not PER person) plus $1 extra per suitcase.

Thanks!

Anyone have an idea of when NCL will release the summer 2020 Alaska Cruises? When did they release the 2019 cruises?

Being a local in Puerto Rico maybe I can shed some light on this. There are three docks that are capable of being used for embarkation in San Juan: Pier 1 is the oldest and smallest in Old San Juan and, as a reference, is the one to the leff-most part of the waterfront in a Google maps picture. It is usually used by Viking and Regent cruises when they are using SJ as a home port seasonally. Pier 2 is exclusively used by the ferry that gets you to the other side ou'd the bay to Cataño. This is the one you take to go to the Bacardi rum factory. Pier 3 is just a long, uncovered, simple pier used for ships calling in San Juan. Pier 4 is under contract for use by Carnival. Carnival cruises originating in San Juan embark there and 90% of calls by Carnival ships are docked there as well. The Sheraton Old San Juan is located just across the street to Pier 3.

The other passenger dock is on the eastern side of the bay at the Pan American pier. To my knowledge all companies not called Viking, Regent or Carnival use this pier for embarkation. It has been used a handfull of times by ships calling San Juan but it was a couple of years ago when we had a few instances of having over 6 ships calling OSJ at the dame time!!

There is another Sheraton besides the Convention Center (hence the name of the hotel) but it's really not walkable to/ from the ship. The Pan Am pier is used for embarkation by Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Norwegian cruises. This is where you also take the Ro-ro ferry to the Dominican Republic.

So yes, there is, technically, a Sheraton hotel across from both piers. Its just that one is much more farther "across" than the other. ;)

How far in a cab,would it be from a hotel In Old SAN Juan (we’re staying at the Decanter) to the Pan Am pier? Any idea of cab cost?

Has anyone done. B2b from San Juan, Puerto Rico?

Our March 24, 2019 cruise on the Dawn still shows Tortola, but DomInica was taken off the itinerary. We are also going the week before and Martinique was removed from that itinerary.

unlike other cruise lines, Norwegian cruise card color is completely random. the color on the card does not mean anything. I have received cruise cards in various colors. Teal, Blue, Yellow, etc, etc

This is not exactly true. Haven And suite cards are different colors and recognizable.

My ring is a bit loose so I bought a cheap costume jewelry ring that I wear on vacation. I feel better knowing it won’t matter if I lose it.

I have my CZ ring that I wear as my wedding ring when I travel. I never take my real ring. It is not worth the risk to lose it. Oh, and I bought the ring on the Star in 2011. 😍

These posts are making me rethink my $100 minimum. Humm. I appreciate the input. The thing is, we will always use the butler services, so we will be tipping well anyway. ;p

I would cruise the Star QV each time as long as they UP grade us each cruise as they did once in the past. We had a rear penthouse suite BOOKED and called and asked if we would take the Owners Suite on the BOW, that was a great room.

the next year we booked the same rear penthouse and they once again called to move us to the Owners Suite, told them we loved the room but not the front balcony when underway....windy

I told them that if I would take a GV if not sold yet. She said she had no idea about that cabin but would pass my thoughts to her supervisor.

Well damn if someone didn't call a few days later,

Long story but it was great, and that roll call for that cruise I posted that anyone from CC could visit our cabin and take tour after we set sail. The butler was told that we would be having guests and he and another person set up a food buffet outside on the dinning table drinks, snacks, small other food items.

It was pretty cool stay, we didn't even leave the ship that week, just relaxed on our deck, hottub, sauna, and played in all three beds.

Nice upgrade! We too, when in the GV don’t leave the room much. Lol. It’s a great way to spend quality time, spoiled rotten with our friends and family.

Let me ask you a question then....do you also Tip out the Haven Dining Staff or the Hostess? Both categories of this service group in the MDR's have been tipped out on other lines. If so why, and if not why not if you are willing to share your thoughts.

Let’s see. Regarding Haven staff. We did actually tip the Haven restaurant maitre-d on the Getaway because she was amazing (she is in fact now a concierge with NCL, Suzanna). We also tipped one of the waitresses (Michelle W.) in the Haven restaurant of that same cruise. We did that because we ate in the Haven Restaurant a lot that cruise and those 2 ladies made a huge positive impact on our cruise. On the Epic we did not, but we did not spend much time in the Haven restaurant on the Epic.

I feel like if you are cruising in a suite, tipping extra needs to be a part of your budget. We always budget a certain amount and if the concierge is not great, for example, we give that extra money to the room stew and the butler. We rarely come back with tip money unspent.

And regarding the people not using the butler, why not? I am more than capable of doing things myself as well, but part of the enjoyment of booking a suite is the relaxation and splurging of having someone else do it for you! That’s what the butler is for, to make your cruise amazing. I feel if you are kind to the butler, tip him/her well for their service, why not use their services! You want some pretzal rolls from the buffet, just call your butler! You forgot your wine in the room and you’re at one of the restaurants, call the butler!

We are just back and having been interested in this topic for our Getaway cruise and after being in suites on Celebrity cruises and NCL I'd like to share my thoughts on tipping now that we have completed our cruise.

 

I really contemplated this gratuity. I wanted to be fair and I wanted to be sure that the amount was in tune with what I was comfortable with. As I walked away from my Butler experience, I am 1,000 % sure that my cabin attendant did a materially better job enhancing my enjoyment than my Butler did.

 

So I dwelled on what I was going to do about my impressions, and I thought about those who shared their experiences here.

 

At the end of the day, I shared a wonderful hug and Thank You with our cabin attendent along wth some extra cash. Our cabin was picture perfect each and every day. Like every day was better than a first day. Organized and spotless. We are very easy to care for, we don't leave a mess, and she had papers organized that we might have left astray. I have never had such a high level of attention. She was our Vacation Hero.

 

We have had butlers on NCL before and on Celebrity in various suites. On Celebrity the Butlers have been in the service charge. Apparently on NCL this is not the case, or so they say here.

 

If I suggest that on Celebrity for example in a non-suite we have tipped the staff who brings us a breakfast tray at what was a suggested $2.00, then should I say that a bulter who brings milk for our coffee should be mathematically $2.00 per milk trip?

 

If I say that a cabin steward on Celebrity that brings us room service is a $2.00 tip for the tray, are the afternoon goodies that come with the Haven a $2.00 per trip gratuity?

 

Let's say that the breakfast tray is now $5.00 and the afterrnoon snack is $5.00. That's $10.00 a day. Is that $70.00 or perhaps $80.00 then?

 

We gave our Butler $100.00. Was it to be PC? Maybe. Probably. But I don't think I will ever do that again for milk for the coffee machine and the afternoon canapes that the cabin come with anyway.

 

Especially when the cabin attendant outshined the Butler by a mile.

 

The DSC is higher for suites although it is not defined that suites = The Haven since many suites are not Haven, so its sort of smoky to me. I do think that the Butlers do get a share of the DSC weven wothout proof that they do, and that the idea of a gratuity on top of that is more or less what anyone would do over and above for any non Haven cabin steward, and I'll bet in this day and age most don't think twice about leaving a penny more with so many looking to have the DSC eliminated from their account.

 

Especially when NCL says go ahead and do just that.

 

In the end I think tipping the Butler is a hot mess. I'll go as far as to say for standard cabin services like leaving milk for the machine instead of the creamers or bringing afternon canapes that are standard fare....leaving a gratuity is not at all necessary.

 

If they unpack you, if they bring you full DR meals and serve you above and beyond and cater to specialized whims what ever they may be, yes, those are above standard services. Tip on that.

 

But tip on what I am describing, milk and afternoon canapés? No, I personally don't think it is justified.

I’m sorry, but if you continue to book suites on NCL and do not tip anything, I feel sorry for your future butlers. I believe there is an expectation of at least a bare minimum of $100 tip for 2 people in a 7 night suite.

An option to book the Owner's Suites on decks 9 and 10 without having Haven access for a reduced price.

Love this idea

We were just in the owner’s suite with 2 balconies on the Pearl, which is similar to the Star. LOVED THAT SUITE!

First, to answer your question. Owner’s suite gets the following extras over the regular suites:

1. Bottle of real Moet Chandon Champaign, not the crappy fake stuff they give the other suites.

2. Unlimited bottled water, soda, mixers, etc.

3. 3 bottles of liquor

4. Available seating reserved for shows

5. Additional bath amenities - lip balm and hand lotion from Blvgari as well as the body soap/shampoo, conditioner and body lotion.

6. Extreme level of service - all suites get good service, owner’s suites and above get *really* great service.

As far as that specific suite goes, get one on deck 10. They are bigger than the deck 9 suites. Also, we reallllllly loved the front balcony, but also used the side balcony when too windy or sunny. We ate breakfast out on the side balcony a couple of times and it was fabulous. If you are traveling with anyone, book the penthouse suite that is connected. Our friend had that suite and it was so nice to have the connected doors. There is actually a little secret hallway between the 2 rooms. Each suite has their own door to the connected hallway, so we could close for privacy when we wanted to.

Thank you for your review. We have only sailed NCL but I’m sort of dying to try one of the large RCCL ships. Can you let me know what perks suites in those ships come with? Do they have a butler? Concierge? Meals in rooms? Priority embarkation and debarkation? Drink package?

From what I have read regarding tips, it seems to me that many people do not use their butlers as much as they can. Maybe that is because people do not know why to ask for? Let’s list some things you have asked (And received the sevice) of your butler! I’ll start. (Caveat - we tip our butler generously and usually get to know the butler as well. We do not treat the butler like a servant, just a person who is making our cruise more comfortable).

1. Meals in the suite

2. Special requests on snacks

3. Bring our wine bottles to the restaurants we have dinner plans at so they are the right temperature for the meal. (We once even had the waiter of the restaurant call the butler to bring down our champs).

4. Bring iron and ironing board to suite

5. Set up anniversary surprise for hubby

6. Get my bag from the naughty room (I packed a small fan which is apparently not allowed anymore).

7. Get my fan from Customer Service at the end of the cruise

8. Deal with difficult concierge for us - long story, but bad concierge, great butler who handled the issue without getting into “trouble” from his boss the concierge.

9. Refill water and soda in suite when is suites that include it.

10. Bring olives, mixers for the booze in the room.

I’d love to know what you all ask for too!

If you’re planning on booking the GV, book the Dawn or Star. The Jewel class ships GVs are nice, but do not even compare to the Star and Dawn.

I'm not sure why you even made the comment that I am one of the very few who have positive things to say about Bruno? Is that supposed to diminish my opinion? I think it paints you in a light of being very judgmental of others.

 

How is the weather up in the ivory tower?

 

Can we please get back on topic of the great time the OP had on their cruise? I asked a simple question earlier in this thread and her answer made others start posting negative comments of one of the crew. Why?

You have overanalyzed my comment. It was just a comment based on what I have read here on cruisecritic. I have not read any other positive statements about him, but have read many that are similar to our experience with him. If you like him, great, I really don’t care. To insult me because of that comment is childish, grow up.

Oh, and I agree, back to the OP’s great post. However, you can’t insult me and not expect me to reply. Come on.

We had Bruno on our last cruise and he took great care of my parents who were in 9002 and we had the connecting OS 9004 thanks to the good 'ol days upsell via phone call. He went above and beyond for them more than once. We did not ask too much from him but he delivered every time. We would be happy to see him on our upcoming cruise. :):)

You’re one of the very few who have positive things to say about Bruno.

Gray review! We board very soon so it is great to rad reviews of the Pearl!

Omg I realllllllllly hope Bruno does not board the Pearl before we do on March 25. We had the absolute worst experience with him.

Bump! Anyone have pictures of the renovated spinaker lounge?