sparks1093

Excellent info to have, thanks! Knowing it's the same price delivered makes it a sure bet that I'll be trying it.

But they are unfair practices being used by only one company. And a company that sells a completely different type of cruise (although they do sell ocean cruises as well, but I haven't heard of any unfair practices in that regard).

Even so, it doesn't warrant industrywide changes or government oversight.

I took this to be an extra offering from Pizza Pirate (or whatever it's called on whichever ship you are on). I can see them adding something special to the menus of the included restaurants (Blue Iguana, Guy's, etc.) in an effort to increase revenue.

I dunno, if it's late and we want a snack delivered that might be something to try. Even things that are "traditional" started out as "new" at one point in time.

It's a balancing act for sure but no cruise line guarantees itineraries or ports of call. Of course what we're talking about is a cruise line knowing of a change and not communicating that change, even still selling that itinerary knowing of the change. Again, I've only seen two cruise lines mentioned as being guilty of this on a frequent basis. Is that enough to warrant sweeping changes across the industry? Not to me. The whole river cruise thing is a separate issue and while I would be disappointed with being bussed around, that possibility is covered in the contract.

I got to try it for the first time when we sailed out of New Orleans last year. We stayed an extra day to see some sights and found a great restaurant for lunch. I'm excited that it's on the menu.

Great score!

If it is prepared right it shouldn't be too hard for an experienced person to get it right scoop after scoop. Everything is designed with consistency in mind, so when something isn't consistent it can be more jarring. I wouldn't rule out waitstaff picking the better looking plates.

If a dish is supposed to have meat then it should have meat and the amount of meat should be generally consistent from plate to plate.

Actually Carnival has an app for the waitstaff and kitchen to use to track that very thing. DW has several food related issues including being allergic to shell fish. On our last cruise one of our companions also had many food sensitivities. They met with a member of the waitstaff the first night and all of their information was entered into the app. After each evening meal they would each receive a copy of the next evening's menu and if the next day was a sea day brunch menu. They would make their selections and they were input into the system and if anything they wanted was on their list it would be made without the offending food or they would be given the opportunity to order something else. I suspect that for YTD the procedure would be the same as it was for brunch- they would hand their S&S card to the waitstaff assigned and the waitstaff would go retrieve the ticket from the app with their order. It was a system that worked very well and I applaud Carnival for adopting it.

Yes, the quantity of the food is definitely something that should be standard.

On every ship that I've been on early in the morning is less smoky.

I don't use a CPAP but if I did this is what I would do. $3.75 is more than reasonable and worth not having to lug it myself.

I care more about taste than presentation (which is generally lost on me) and since very cook considers himself/herself to be an artist I would expect some variation. The key is being true to the recipe itself (I know that in my own kitchen I use the recipe as a general guide, but then I am only cooking for two and not thousands).

Maybe, but DW almost always falls asleep in her recliner for a few hours before waking up to go to bed. If she were to fall asleep on our balcony I would cover her up (provided that I was still awake to do so, of course🤣).

I think the main question is do we want to invoke sweeping industrywide reforms for what has happened only in a few cases? It seems that there are only three main offenders being identified in this thread, Oceania, NCL, Viking. Yes, other cruise lines have to amend itineraries because of weather or mechanical issues but the norm is they allow affected passengers the opportunity to reschedule or cancel without penalty if the changes are major (and there is sufficient forewarning) or they offer a combination of onboard credits and future cruise credits. Does that result in 100% customer satisfaction? By no means. But it does satisfy the vast majority of passengers. As long as this remains such a limited thing I feel that we don't need to get the government involved in any reforms.

It typically costs less if you order beforehand. I've never seen it go on sale.

This info alone makes me glad that I followed along. I'm often up at 5a.m. even on vacation so knowing where the coffee is helps. Which WiFi plan are you using?

They "bought a cruise that would include scenic cruising off the Antarctic mainland". This quote from the linked Forbes article above indicates to me that they weren't actually going to be going ashore, they were just sailing by. I can certainly understand the disappointment at not getting to see what most people won't, especially if the cruise line charges a premium for the itinerary (and I am sure that they did).

This is true but one would expect that someone who goes into the hospitability industry would be concerned more with hospitality for the guest, especially if a premium is being charged for the services being provided. Customer satisfaction goes hand in hand with repeat business, after all. But in any case, as I said none of this surprises me about Oceania and NCL.

I'm actually not surprised that NCL and Oceania have that kind of record. Based on his comments when he took over NCL Del Rio struck me as someone more concerned with what what the guest could do for him than the other way round.

Can't wait until we board in April but your review will help.

Little these days is obvious to everyone, especially when dealing with a government agency. 🙂

You do save a few bucks if you buy each of those things prior to sailing.