PATRLR

Ah, there are the key words: "I think". Fortunately, you are not the NCL Security Department (or whatever department determines banned items). NCL says no satellite phones and their reasons for banning really don't matter and are not up for extension by passengers who think something else is similar enough that it should be banned. What is your point? iPhones are not satellite phones and having tangentially similar capabilities does not make them satellite phones according to the NCL folks who determine what is on the banned list.

I suspect it's two separate commissions and I suspect the OP is using the term "commission" liberally, but not necessarily incorrectly. A CN salesperson could be incentivized to book cruises. That incentive is likely some form of referral bonus/fee which is common in many lines of business. That referral fee could be considered a "commission" according to the English language definition of "commission". The CN salesperson's incentive/commission is likely completely separate and different from a booking agent's commission. I have no idea if that is how it works with NCL, but it certainly is plausible. That is the way many businesses work, including my own. If one of my employees directly generates some upsell with an existing customer, they get a bonus that has no impact on the salesperson's commission.

And you know it goes to the bartenders/servers how? I'm not challenging you here, I already know that the cash tips get pooled, I'd really like to know what happens after that. I am hopeful it goes to the bartenders/servers.

I don't think I have ever heard them say that, certainly not voluntarily. I agree with what's been said, they want you to think that OBC has to be used for other stuff, essentially increasing your onboard spend. There is no doubt in my mind that is their plan and intention.

To further emphasize Bird's point - they will literally pull you out of line and send you to a different line to cash out before they let you off the ship. Cash out the night before.

Yes, of course. And that is why they act very similarly to time-share salespeople right down to the confusing/misleading statements.

Is that Kay's the same as Kay's on St Martin? We were very pleased with them years ago and used to stop there any time in St. Martin. Haven't been in the Jewelry market for many years so not sure of current status.

Having "satellite features built in" does not make something a satellite phone. When you consider GPS is satellite-based, then using the same logic one could say any phone with GPS capabilities is a satellite phone. The fact that some countries ban something doesn't mean the cruise ship should. Many Caribbean islands don't allow camouflage clothing. I'm not aware of any mass-market cruise ship that has the same ban.

I understand that point, but the fact that the staff doesn't pay income taxes to the US Government is probably the biggest reason I doubt the US government is involved.

Yeah, that is my hope, but I wouldn't put it past NCL or any of the mass market lines to force some sort of department or even ship wide pooling. I also acknowledge we may never know for sure.

You did Thanksgiving in Turkey?

On NCL, even if you leave the bartender cash, it doesn't go direct to the bartender. It gets put into a pool. I once saw a guy who was hanging at the Vibe all week hand each server an envelope that I assumed had cash in it. Each server too the envelop and added it to a pile next to the cash register (didn't even open it). How that pool is split, I don't know (I've heard it gets split amongst those who work that specific bar, but I can't be sure). Referring to people who use delivery services as fools and suckers is kind of a broad brush. I agree in that I seldom (never?) use them for personal use. I'll order direct from a restaurant and go pick it up if I have to. I often use those on-line services when on travel and find the services to be worth every penny. Of course, it's not always my penny, but, paying $10-$15 to get food delivered to my hotel room so I can work in the evening is a rather smart expense with very good ROI.

By the way, nice stock image of a Polaris seat in reclined mode.

@pete_coach began this comment by writing about "walking past the business class section", presumably at the end of a flight. I agree that during a flight it's fairly easy to keep things neat. I find that when the section looks a mess is at the end when all of the used blankets, pillows, amenities etc are left behind becuase there really is no where else to put them. Yes, I agree, if you aren't going to use something at the beginning of the flight you can probably get an FA to take it away. But at the end of the flight, when the passengers are finished using the products, I don't see how it's reasonable to expect people to return all those products to the neat and tidy piles that they found them in. But OK, I surrender. You guys are probably right that business class folks prefer to live in squalor. The fact that they have a lot more room in which to have their stuff compared to economy class where there is barely room for a human has nothing to do with the appearance of the cabins.

Your experience does not match mine. I listed out the gear you get in Polaris - can you name ANY economy class seat that gets all of that stuff? And I can assure you if I tried to hand any of that back to a flight attendant there is no way they would take it back. "squalor"? Really? OK, if that's what you consider it, I guess I shouldn't have engaged in this conversation.

You are mistaken. First San Juan sailing is Dec 15.

The difference with business class seats is they get a lot more "stuff" that there really is no place to put it after using it, so, it ends up haphazardly strewn around the seat. On a United Polaris seat you get a couple blankets, a couple pillows, amenity kits, maybe pajamas, there is no place to put all that stuff to make it look neat.

Sure, I get that. But, to the best of my knowledge the picture I included was of the two main shows: Beetlejuice and Icons.

So long as we are talking about the CBS benefits, supposedly I should be able to "Pre-book entertainment as early as 21 days prior to sailing" But when I look at entertainment for my Dec 15 Viva sailing, I see what I've pasted below. In fact, there is nothing in the Entertainment tab that is available for booking. Is this a case of only very limited pre-booking available and I missed it because I didn't try right at 21 days (similar to dining)?

The list above is supposedly "exclusive" to the Club Balcony Suites. Can anyone explain what is exclusive about the last 5 items? To the best of my knowledge, all balcony cabins get those last 5 items.

Can you tell us more about Captain Frenchy's and the beach? There have been problems with that beach being washed away, how was it when you were there? We're looking to just grab a taxi and head to a beach to hang out, so, looking for recent reviews. By the way, your review is exactly why we no longer book ship excursions or any other large group excursions. Too often, way too much time is wasted getting into, riding on, and getting off of buses.

?

I know that if I decided to book one of these rooms, my expectation would be that the hot tub is available to me 24x7 without any prior planning. I'd be mighty disappointed to learn the access is as limited as they say. I wonder what the draining process involves? Does someone need to enter the cabin to do that (I assume they do). Talk about a mood spoiler...

OK, this begs the question, why not chlorinate the private tubs?

Vibe, if you have access.