scootersdad

On 4/16/2024 at 10:47 PM, RMac713 said:

I already booked (last night) a trip for next March.  I have always booked my own on Disney and more lately Celebrity.  I am still in the window to transfer to a TA, should I do that?  Someone recommended vacations to go.

 

My T/A is with Cruise Planners and has saved us twice.  Once bc of COVID between. a B2B. She cancelled the next cruise, had a hotel booked flights home within 2 hours.  Then dealt with Insurance. This January had to cancel one within a week of sailing.  She handled the entire claim. 
However, I believe CPs are independent so pick an experienced one.   
In my humble opinion. 

17 hours ago, jas283a said:

But no news on any new 2022 cancellations? I haven’t seen anything, just thought I’d check, since I’m about to nail down some excursion plans (with everything being able to be canceled/refunded/no prepayment). 

I just left my T/A's office.  She agreed Cr  Cr boards are usually on top of information.

We contacted NCL and the agent had No information about the cancellation, however she was tentative and seemed new and unsure of herself.   

Hoping for the best.

5 hours ago, casofilia said:

@prunderw

 

Please explain.

 

Has another port been cancelled and my TA is behind again?

 

My most recent post (#84) was an attempt to explain the wording of part of the email I received cancelling the Jade Baltic cruises of July 2023 part of which, I think, @scooters dad had slightly misunderstood.

Possibly, strange that my T/A hasn't even mentioned the possibility. 

I appreciate the kind response.

We meet with the T/A on Wednesday at 11.  Hope she knows something by then.  This would be our 7th cancellation

On 5/15/2022 at 2:23 PM, casofilia said:

@prunderw

 

Seems there's much more to this than NCL is sharing.

 

I have already emailed NCL asking for an explanation.   I will post my email if and when I get a response.   I suggest you do the same.

Looks like they are giving us 6  1/2 months in 2023 to use the credits.  Unreasonable!!!!!!!!!

14 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Makes a lot of sense. That's why we also book Princess and NCL cruises when we want to go to exotic places like Longyearbyen or East Africa, at a fair price, on 3-5+ week cruises. 😎

I agree. 

Especially the transatlantic cruises on Celebrity and RCL.   Both are lacking ports.  Too many days-at-sea.

As a D+ and stockholder I hate to admit NCL has much better Transatlantic offerings.  

3 hours ago, LadyBerard said:

IF NCL does this fleet wide, I will be sure to cancel my 60th btd. cruise on the Pearl in Aug. 2023, and book another line.

 

Sure puts a damper on b2bs.

2 hours ago, dahirsh said:

 

If you are under the impression Sysco only sells pre cooked/prepared foods you are mistaken.  I did not cook for a living but I did process invoices for several years.  They sell plenty of uncooked proteins and other ingredients as well as paper, plastic and cleaning items used by restaurants.

Never Said That, did I   ????????????

1 hour ago, Sunshine3601 said:

I think you mean Rusty Scupper restaurant.     They do have an wonderful Sunday brunch with a great view.     We like McCormick & Schmicks at Pier 5 Hotel too!    We have lots of favorites in Baltimore.

Rusty Scupper is 100% correct.   Been years but still remember the Sunday Brunch

15 minutes ago, Rogueperson said:

I just saw that last night.  Vision would be nice.  I was hoping for a Radiance class, but no such luck.

if you do go to  B'more try a restaurant called the Rusty Rudder which is not in the Mall area but across the harbor, a stand alone on the water.  Especially for Sunday seafood brunch.   Thats what a cruise ship should be like.

51 minutes ago, firefly333 said:

We had the chicken wrapped ham ...Corden bleu and were disappointed and the waiter said it is made elsewhere and warmed up in the kitchen. Dont order it unless you love chicken breast. Couldnt find the ham or cheese inside. 

As i recall, that's one of the items i had and asked about.   Seemed like it was from Costco.

Bottom line is that food on  most  cruise lines has gone downhill.

3 hours ago, boscobeans said:

We've been through the galley on a few ships and can't imagine anything other than one or 2 bakery items as being prepared ahead, We saw a few frozen breads on NCL that were baked on board, but so far not on Royal.

 

I used Sysco years ago and they wholesale hundreds of thousands of restaurant items from precooked steaks to the umbrellas in frozen cocktails.

IIems like escargot are pre-cooked and I never saw them making croissants on board but for almost all the other bread and rolls, YES they have an amazing bakery on each ship. 

Interesting topic. Would like to hear from others.

 

 

SORRY: I have to add that there are many special pre-prepared meals and food items for people with certain dietary restrictions and many are frozen and heated on the ship.

I too have been on several galley tours during mostly off hours. 

I sincerely doubt the staff would admit to prepared items if it wasn't true. 

PreCovid  cruise my waiter and head waiter both admitted some of the food is prepared by a restaurant supply house and warmed up on ship.  Not prepared from scratch.  

Watch for Sysco truck while boarding or disembarking.

Did RC remove this benefit from its C&A perks?

10 hours ago, complawyer said:

i dont think  that would necessarily make the star ncl's "worst ship". maybe least reliable, or that would constitute the "worst cruise" experience, but that doesnt make it  the worst ship.

 

as an aside, i hope i'm wrong as we are booked on the star nov 2022 trans-atlantic. 

 

we were also on the star  between 12/2016-1/2017 from hong kong to singapore when the azipods flaked out. while we missed some ports i really wanted to see, they refunded 50% of our money, and a 50% discount on a future cruise,  or a complete refund. since we were already in hong kong   and we were planning on staying in singapore for a few days after the cruise ended, it was kind of a no-brainer. we continued on with the cruise, so i didnt have much to complain about.

 

we had a forward penthouse, and a 14 day cruise for $3750 for 3 people. how can i complain over that?

The Star had been having similiar issues from the previous April and know for missing ports.  It was  supposed to be the cruise of lifetime(33 days) for us and many people.  The ship should have been repaired properly or taken off the schedule. 

The Hotel Manager and even the Captain were rude and lacked concern.  You may remember the Hotel Manager telling  guests "What do you want Me to do; get out and Row"  

I hope its repaired for your sake.  I'll continue to avoid that ship.

On 8/31/2021 at 1:53 PM, The Traveling Man said:

The Star.  It has absolutely the worst record for propulsion maintenance.  It has missed more ports than all the other NCL ships combined because it was running at half-speed with one of it's Azipods offline.  It has had more cruises cancelled because of propulsion problems than all the other NCL ships combined.  So far as I know, it is the only NCL ship to have ever lost power and end up adrift in the ocean.  We were on it in the Tasman Sea when it just simply stopped.  Two days later, we finally were towed back into Melbourne, where we spent another three days for them to fix the Azipods.  NEVER AGAIN!

We were on that ship and treatedlike it was Our Fault we were displeased.

On 3/19/2021 at 9:51 PM, DaCruiseBug said:

 

Seems quite silly to me that NCL is spending man hours and resources to remove latitude points from cruises 1 year ago. Would have been a nice gesture for them to just leave them, especially those that had their cruise cancelled 1-2 days before they were supposed to sail. 

could have at least allowed Half the points to remain for all the trouble we've been through trying to stick with NCL.....    Great Business Decision !!!         

3 hours ago, complawyer said:

you're a little late, but welcome to the party. we've discussed this numerous times.. ncl jacks up the price and then lo and behold runs this wonderful 30% off sale. this sale has been running since mid november, and they ran the same "sale" in 2019, with the same b.s.

 

the price per cabin was much, much lower prior to this sale.

 

as i always say:"NCL dont give away ice cubes in winter"

thanks but i have also been discussing this for a long time    i should have bolded the word EVER.

Maybe in my next life.

On 1/25/2021 at 5:09 PM, labradorsunseeker said:

Hi, is it just me or are the "30% off prices"  for future cruises now at least 30% (or more) higher than they were pre-covid?  

Is it just me or are they are ever straightforward in their pricing??

hate being played.

Wish there was a way to treat them accordingly.   

On 1/23/2021 at 2:27 AM, burgesst said:

You are so right on POINT. 

On 2/5/2021 at 3:53 PM, taglovestocruise said:

Diamonds will get the free drinks on their sea pass card. Diamond lounges will become D+ lounges.

Maybe require cruisers to take a cruise every 18 months (or so) to maintain their current level.   

  If not, lose 7 of the points every 6 months thereafter.

3 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Have you sailed with them before.

 

We gave them 3 chances. All were dissapointing, but its been a while.

 

Even had a butler on one. Still no good

We cruise a lot.  Almost platinum plus on NCL    Prefer their Transatlantic cruises by far.

Did have a horrible experience on the NCL Star in 2017.   Ship totally broke down.

But hate being nickled and dimed by any business.  Taking away benefits is just as bad.

4 hours ago, davekathy said:

e...^^^We'll wait until our next RC cruise to see what or if any changes have been made to the current C&A program concerning perks/benefits. BTW my Magic 8 Ball says, "cannot predict now". 🎱👍

Hurts as a D+ to say we are already  booked on 2 NCL cruises and if necessary will stay with them if the screw with our benefits.   Royal is our favorite but ...........

16 hours ago, 39august said:

Has RCI announced any changes in the loyalty amenities, please? I am wondering if, so far, P's still get 3 bottles of wine complimentary? I hope that the drink amenity on the Singapore cruises is carried over to all ships when cruising resumes. I would be very happy with 6 drinks any time every day. 

Double Points???   Pretty soon almost everyone will be in the Diamond Lounge  

I doubt  Anyone  actually books a cruse to get double points.  My T/A agreed.

I won't. 

2 hours ago, Rewind said:

 

Dang, I was hoping for zipper pulls.

Penny Wise

Pound Foolish.

As a D+ and stockholder it kills me to watch what Was my favorite cruise line become a glorified discount-style ship.

14 hours ago, yogimax said:

In the whole scheme of things, this is a small perk, but one that makes a great first impression.

 

My guess is that the RCCL accountants have dismissed the idea as "costing too much."

 

What's that expression... "penny wise and pound foolish!"

Not use prepared food off-ship that is just heated up..

Are they hiring Chefs of microwave operators  

On 1/15/2021 at 7:14 PM, pcur said:

1. Start cruising from the West Coast again.
2. Have refundable deposits like Princess cruises.
3. Have longer itineraries like Princess and HAL.

 

Have Transatlantics that stop at more ports like NCL.