gizfish

Just to add, NY strip was one of the regular (not steakhouse additional charge selections) always available items in the MDR, and was also offered twice in the "daily specials" section on our 8 night Meraviglia cruise in September.  It was quite good.

13 hours ago, erisajd said:

Where is legionella coming from if they've sanitized the HT and the only people in it are you and your immediate party? Its not coming off of you, since you don't have it on your person if you have showered in the last 24-48 hours - so where is it coming from? Are they draining the hot tubs in the public areas every hour?  No -of course not.  There an infinitely greater chance of contracting this disease in a public area vs a private hot tub on your deck.  

 

Just my opinion - I've been wrong before but this seems like some public health officer somewhere decided to be a butthead.  

The bacteria is not something that one catches from another person.  It is not something that "comes off" you or anyone else in the hot tub.  It isn't spread through body fluids (BTW, for the people writing about others peeling in the hot tubs, unless one has a UTI, urine is sterile.  I certainly don't want to swim or soak in it, but it won't make you sick.)  Legionella can be in the air.  The problem is it grows wonderfully in moist environments like a hot tub that is not kept at a high enough temperature.  The other problem is it spreads through air that is aerosolized and inhaled, like what's pumping through the jets and bubbling out of the water.  So limiting the amount of time for the bacteria to grow and thoroughly cleaning the tub to kill any bacteria that has grown keeps you from getting very sick or dieing.  Public hot tubs are certainly NOT more of a risk because they are chlorinated. Chlorine kills all the nasty stuff people are bringing in there, and it prevents legionella from growing.

14 hours ago, erisajd said:

 

I believe the packages now tell you exactly which restaurants they are for, no longer giving you the choice of where to use them.  Also be aware that each restaurant in the package has a special, limited, menu from which you may order.

I can understand how inconvenient it is to not be able to use the spa tub when and for how long you want to.  However, Legionaires disease, which is what these procedures are preventing, is a whole lot more inconvenient. The temperature of the spa is ideal for growth of legionella, and the jets are ideal for aerosolizing it.  The one hour limit followed by the thorough cleaning prevents this.  NCL is just following CDC protocol and they are paying you generously for your inconvenience.

7 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

 

Ok, so I just saw a video of rowdiness on board recently. It was apparently a bartender on board pouring shots straight down passengers mouths leaning over the bar counter. 
 

this is full-on, spring-break “girls gone wild”-level stuff. Not only that, it’s a health hazard to be sharing the same spout, and there was NO wiping it in between

 

Anyway, I’m not going to let that kind of horseplay ruin my cruise, and I wouldn’t be the one to say anything to food & bev, but SOMEONE should have

Just because it's on the internet doesn't mean it is true.  In my over 30 cruises on practically every mainstream line, the majority being out of NY, I have never seen anything like this.  I think you are already in danger of ruining a big part of your cruise, the anticipation, with your worrying and over thinking.  Relax, breath and just try to enjoy looking forward to your vacation.

3 hours ago, Yesimapirate said:

I had the opportunity (or curse) to work on some major public buildings around the country.   That's exposed me to multiple fire marshall inspections.  I've been told more than once that even if something is not required that if it's installed,  it has to work.  The options are to make it work or get rid of it.  I happen to think that's fairly reasonable and common sense.

 

I would hold the same standard here.  While it's absolutely true the safety video and announcements say to 911.  But when the adrenaline is flowing and you're in a situation that causes stress and you see something in writing FROM THE CRUISE LINE telling you to press the button on case of emergency,  it's reasonable to expect it to work.  Does a normal person take a moment to contemplate which of the instructions from the cruise line are correct when they conflict?  Does anyone think to themselves "the phone at a hotel I slept at once had a confusing phone so this button probably doesn't work"?  If this happened on land in a hotel do you and a guest passed away do you really think a court would say "well if you paid more attention to the video this wouldn't have happened"?

 

The handful of you that attack anyone who posts anything negative about NCL are just out of control.   You've chased so many people from here that its become an echo chamber of cheerleading.   Many of you post multiple times throughout the day so you clearly enjoy these boards yet you're the ones killing it.  The OP posted both positive and negative of what THEY experienced.   Not what you experienced 6 months ago.   It's ridiculous how some of you treat people.   And further,  you're flat out wrong on this.   NCL needs to simply put a new info card (or whatever you call it) on all the phones that doesn't show an emergency button. 

Thank you for being a voice of reason here, and thanks to the OP for not only posting a balanced review, but also sticking it out and staying around to continue to comment.  In the dictionary next to the term "cognitive dissonance" is the suggestion to read posts on the NCL cc board for context.

I'm sorry, if the phone has a button for emergencies it should work, regardless of how dialing 911 would be effective.  If the emergency button is not what you press in an emergency, it has no business being there.  The NCL cheerleading has reached a new low, if you are actually blaming someone for pressing an emergency button and expecting it to work instead of dialing 911.

Disney cruise lines had free soda, don't know if they still do.  Free beverages on NCL include all day hot coffee and tea and unsweetened iced tea, and juices and milk in the morning. You can get milk in the MDRs at all meals, and can request it at the buffet if it is not out.at other times.  Hot cocoa packets used to be available at the buffet, but I don't know if that is the case now.  After breakfast, the buffet juice machines change to sugar free sweetened flavored water, I believe it's peach/mango and kiwi/strawberry.  I think lemonade may be available, but I'm not sure.

22 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

I have a question.

 

If someone playing some music through a small speaker so that it can be heard by the people in the room will ruin people’s peace and quiet, why do NCL put TVs in every cabin?

No one is bringing the TV out onto the balcony and imposing their viewing choices on the other balconies near them.  Playing your music on the balcony is an imposition on those around you.  Watching TV or listening to music in your cabin at an excessively loud volume is also an imposition.  But no one here was saying listening to music in your cabin at normal levels was impacting other's peace and quiet.

The only reason I knew that Baltic Linen was in Lake Success despite growing up nearby and DH working nearby was because we so liked the Haven towels that I searched the brand on line.  They had a factory, not a store there and dealt with the hospitality industry. In 2014 I paid about $28 for a pack of 6 hand towels.  At some point I purchased a three pack of bath sheets on eBay for some similarly reasonable cost.  However, that $19.99 sale seems too good to be true, and that line of towels is not the same one as the Haven. And I have no idea what to do with "finger tip" towels lol. 

Sharing your meal with someone else is a lot different when the restaurant basically offers unlimited meat than in a restaurant where you get one of each course.  Just like on land, sharing at an all you can eat restaurant is not allowed.  

Just so you know, the 5% discount is not applicable on flash sale rates.  Other sale bookings accept the discount.

7 hours ago, DorothyB said:

We were in an Owner's Suite in February - Pride of America.  The Master bedroom had some very, very nice plush towels.  The second bedroom had the regular NCL towels.

The brand of towels in the Haven used to be Baltic Linen, specifically pyramid excel, actually made in Lake Success, NY.  In 2017, the company was acquired by Sobel Westex. I haven't had to replace the original Baltic brand towels I bought in 2014 since they are still so awesome.  But the Sobel website does seem to offer some styles of Baltic towels.  

https://blog.sobelathome.com/baltic-linen-brand-hotel-linens/

14 hours ago, marktwothousand said:

LOOOOOL. I actually didn’t call it that but that’s what the terminology was from the stewards. It may be Filipino English dialect 

It's called an egg crate because it resembles an egg crate.  It's a common term in the health care industry.

https://www.ncl.com/ca/en/cruise-faq/what-clothes-should-I-pack 

NCL site says swimwear is acceptable at the buffet and outdoor restaurant with a shirt or cover-up.  It seems to imply that even with a cover-up, it is not acceptable in the MDR.

To clarify, the statement above that sodas don't cost anything is incorrect.  Soda on NCL is not free unless you have a soda or alcohol drink package.  Fruit juice is only available at breakfast.  After that the buffet machines contain sugar free sweetened flavored water.  Iced tea is available free in all venues.  I believe lemonade is also an option, but I may be wrong on that.

Just as an aside, the Aurea upgrade would also include access to the thermal spa area.  If you don't get the upgrade, you can purchase a pass to that area.  The thalassotherapy pool and whirlpools there will help your back recover from the bed.

MSC's bed on Meraviglia was quite hard.  You may try contacting special needs through the web site to request an egg crate.  If that doesn't work, ask your room steward when you meet them.  At the very least, they will be able to put a couple of duvets on the bed.  

That's not a cruise.  It's a ferry ride.

That balcony cabin shower looks small.  I don't think you noticed since you were taking the picture, but the shower curtain was definitely winking at you.  I think it also wrote your phone number on the wall for all the other shower curtains on your August cruise.  Thanks for letting us cruise vicariously with you again.

3 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

 

I drink bottled water on the ship because of our encounter with what is really in a ship's water system. Naive. 

 

Do you really have to post these photos every single time someone mentions tap water?  You are the only only who has posted anything like this, and frankly whatever you are showing us is just not a thing that happens with any frequency.  I am sure you raised holy heck if this actually happened to you, and I am sure cruise staff gave you an explanation for this exceedingly rare problem.  So how about instead of drama, you just tell us what they told you caused this instead of misleading people?  The water in the cabins, restaurant, bars etc has always and continues to be purer, cleaner, safe as if not safer than many people's water in their homes.

What are the hours this is offered.  Looks like MSC saw Carnivals brunch and knew it was a good idea to add it to the cruises from NY and FL.  We didn't have this option in September.

The free water from restaurants, bars, and your bathroom tap is pure reverse osmosis water.  https://www.msccruises.com/int/about-msc/sustainability/planet. I am guessing your aversion to the tap water is because chlorine is added.  The water in restaurants and bars is generally filtered to remove the chlorine taste and smell.

Your key card will have your assigned time and table number on it.  The embarkation day daily schedule will tell you where and when the maitre'd is available for dining changes.  If you go at that time, they will be able to tell you if you are at a two top and if not, will try to accommodate a change.