njhorseman

Cruisdeindustrynews.com says it has obtained a copy of the letter, which verifies the original Crew Center report . https://cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/2022/12/norwegian-cruise-line-trimming-stateroom-cleaning-cutting-crew-roles/

But the OP is looking for something to do upon disembarkation, which means they will have all their baggage with them, so they would not be able to do a tour of the USS Iowa.

If this means that HoJo's fried clam strips are going to be on the Vista's menu, I'm booking a couple of cruises ASAP. 😂

No, not an oxymoron. VAT is levied at each stage of the supply chain where value is added. There's an explanation of the concept in this article: https://www.investopedia.com/terms/v/valueaddedtax.asp

In Europe Value Added Tax (VAT) is quite common, as opposed to the US where sales tax is common. Value Added Tax is the actual name of the levy. The wording on the Freestyle Daily is a carryover from its European cruising season and should have been replaced by "Sales Tax" with the start of the ship's US cruising season.

You have to include your old passport with the application for the renewal passport so you won't even have the old passport in your possession once you apply for the renewal. And yes, you lose any time remaining on the old passport. When you get it back it will have been invalidated by having holes punched in it.

The passenger doesn't need the BC because their passport is still valid for the cruise they're taking. I cited the rules on a birth certificate and ID being sufficient for this cruise in order to reinforce the reasoning why 6 months validity of the passport isn't needed. If you don't need a passport at all, you can't be required to have a passport with 6 months remaining validity. As long as the passport is valid through the cruise's disembarkation date it will be accepted.

NCL exclusive.

Although I'm not certain, I suspect it does. NCL has ships calling on Bermuda all winter and the contract they signed with Bermuda a few years ago, if still in effect, included a provision for NCL offering ferry service between Dockyard and St. George's.

i don't know about other cruise lines, but I've been able to do it on NCL. I go to the guest services deck, fill out forms with the names of the employees I am tipping and the tip gets credited to their accounts.

Try calling them.

I've made numerous port calls at Puerto Vallarta and never felt the discomfort I did in Acapulco. There are heavily armed military and police on virtually every street corner in the central area of Acapulco. I can't say that I'm familiar with what you are calling "the gates", but how can you compare armed guards at one location, particularly when location isn't even in Puerto Vallarta, to an entire city being an armed camp. The US government certainly doesn't classify Puerto Vallarta with a Do Not Travel warming, and US government employees are not even permitted to travel the tourist areas of Acapulco , while there is no such prohibition for Puerto Vallarta, nor are there any such restrictions for Nuevo Vallarta: "There are no other restrictions on travel for U.S government employees in Jalisco state which includes tourist areas in: Guadalajara Metropolitan Area, Puerto Vallarta (including neighboring Riviera Nayarit), Chapala, and Ajijic." "There are no restrictions on travel for U.S government employees in Nayarit state, including tourist areas in: Riviera Nayarit (including Nuevo Vallarta, Punta Mita, Sayulita, and Bahia de Banderas), and Santa Maria del Oro."

And the fact that it's only a couple of cruise lines stop there might suggest the ones that don't are more concerned about safety. I was there a couple of years ago on Oceania and if I were to ever be on another cruise that called on Acapulco I'd choose to remain on board for the day. The city was an armed camp with police and military personnel armed with semi automatic weapons on almost every street corner. At one point on our excursion we stopped at a hotel for refreshments and even there....outside of the main downtown area and we had our refreshments under the watchful eye of a heavily armed private security officer. Not exactly a relaxing experience.

A US citizen is not even required to have a passport for this itinerary, much less a passport with 6 months remaining validity . The passport is merely recommended by Princess, not required; https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/pre-cruise/prepare-for-your-cruise/?accordion=travel-documents US citizens traveling on U.S. roundtrip or “closed-loop” voyages may also travel with an original certified US birth certificate presented together with a valid US government-issued photo identification. These voyages include: Mexico roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco

OP is sailing on Princess and Princess does not have a stricter policy. In fact they clearly state that a passport is not even required of US citizens for this type of itinerary. A passport is recommended, not required : https://www.princess.com/learn/faq/pre-cruise/prepare-for-your-cruise/?accordion=travel-documents US citizens traveling on U.S. roundtrip or “closed-loop” voyages may also travel with an original certified US birth certificate presented together with a valid US government-issued photo identification. These voyages include: Alaska roundtrip from San Francisco or Seattle (roundtrip Seattle cruisetours excluded) Canada/New England roundtrip from New York Caribbean roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale^ or New York Hawaii roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco Mexico roundtrip from Los Angeles or San Francisco

What cruise line are you on? Carnival normally departs from Old San Juan, but NCL, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity normally depart from the Pan American cruise terminal. It really isn't necessary to stay near Pan American if you're sailing from there. Old San Juan and all its charm are just a short taxi ride away and the Condado and Isla Verde areas really aren't far away either. The decision on where you stay is a matter of your budget and the amenities of the hotel and the surrounding area. Old San Juan has old world charm and good variety of restaurants. The Isla Verde and Condado areas have beaches. The area near Pan American is less attractive to leisure travelers and the hotels are designed primarily to serve the nearby convention center.

As both a former travel agency owner and a current client of a travel agent who is a high producer for your favorite premium line, I can tell you that your statement that I've quoted above is not always true. As a high producer for a mass market line, my agency earned high percentage commissions from that line. My current agent, who is a high producer for both your (and my) favorite premium line and my favorite mass market line also earns substantial commissions on the mass market line bookings and offers similar commission sharing percentages to me for both my mass market and premium line bookings. Obviously in terms of dollars of commission earned he earns more from the premium line because of the premium line's higher fares, but the percentages are not that far apart.

I don't recall seeing a single post on the NCL board complaining that the refunding of removed service charges only occurred after disembarkation. Nor have I heard anything like that from another passenger while on board . Since people complain about the most insignificant issues on a daily basis I find it unbelievable that refunds are only made after disembarkation . There would be continual howling about it, but just the opposite is true..not one person has mentioned anything of the sort...except you...someone who wouldn't cruise on NCL if they were paying you to do it. What evidence do you have to support your claim? I'm not interested in something that happened years ago, any more than I would give any credence to a 10 year old restaurant review. Something could have been true in the past but no longer is.

I suggest you read your own words which falsely claim that the process is difficult and can only be done after returning home. The process is easy. You fill out the form on board and your charges are adjusted. You're twisting the FAQ words to fit your narrative. I realize it's a total waste of time to discuss anything about NCL with you. For whatever the reason you have a long standing hatred of that cruise line and will say anything to knock it, whether your point has any foundation in fact or not. To boot your stereotyping of mass market cruise line passengers in general is nothing short of totally offensive.

Absolutely false. If you want to remove or reduce the daily service charge you go to the guest services desk on board and complete a form requesting removal or reduction of the service charge. https://www.ncl.com/faq#!#what-is-onboard-service-charge If there is a service issue can the service charges be adjusted on board?Guest satisfaction is the highest priority at Norwegian Cruise Line. We have structured a guest satisfaction program designed to handle any concerns about service or on-board product quickly and efficiently. However, in the event a service issue should arise during your cruise please let our on-board guest services desk staff know right away, so that we can address these in a timely manner. It is our goal to reach a satisfactory solution to any issue when it happens and make sure our guests can focus on enjoying their cruise. Should your concerns not be met with satisfaction you can adjust the charges.

@BirdTravelsanswered your question in post #128. I'll quote it: "

I fully understand that alcohol and shore excursions are the major inclusions, but it appears you're suggesting that Regent's allowance for business class air is comparable to O's allowance for coach air. I rather doubt that's the case. It doesn't matter that the free hotel isn't available for all cabin categories. For the categories that it is included it's built into the base fare, as the fact that it can be deleted for a credit proves. Obviously a one night hotel stay doesn't have a value that's in the thousands of dollars but it still has a value. I said that the land package is only on some cruises. Again, for cruises where it is included it has a value that is built into the fare. Just because you only want to count certain inclusions doesn't negate the fact that other inclusions have monetary value, and I don't need to have cruised on Regent to understand that. For a number of years I owned a travel agency that sold a fair amount of cruises, so I'm fairly certain I have a decent understanding of how the business works.

Regent also provides business class air for intercontinental flights. O uses coach. Regent provides a one night pre cruise hotel stay, O does not. Regent provides a pre or post cruise land program on some cruises. Oceania does not. It all adds up. You may want to dismiss it, but the all inclusive additions are significant. We consume very little alcohol, nor do we want to take the types of shore excursions that Regent presumably offers at no additional charge. Hence those inclusions are not something we wish to pay for. None of the above are relevant to my statement about the significant monetary value of Regent's all-inclusive structure. I never said that Regent might not be better in the above and other aspects of their product that may very well contribute to their higher fares.

A significant percentage of the higher fares are attributable to Regent being all-inclusive.

Since you're in Europe you're subject to different terms and conditions than someone who books in the US or Canada. Hence why I pointed out to @cruiseny4lifethat the terms and conditions they cited were from from the UK website rather than from the US or Canada. The OP is Canadian.