graphicguy

Little slow on the Meet and Greet sign ups.

Generally speaking, if you know the ingredients, the NCL bartenders will try to make it if they have them readily available. The available ingredients are something of a moving target. For example, they moved Bailey's from the FAS included list to "extra charge". But, they have Buffalo Trace bourbon listed as a FAS inclusion. Any drink list from months or years ago, has likely changed. Best to check when you get on board. The "smoky" drinks are only available in the Haven.

Good idea to hunker down. Feeling sick on long flights is brutal. Plenty of fluids (I recommend bourbon) and Twinkies usually do the trick.

There are days (weeks?) I talk to my pup more than any human! LOL! @Sugar Magnolia…..COVID? Get well soon!

While I was in Europe for a month, she stayed with a friend. I paid my friend what I would have paid a kennel..$20/day, or $600 in total. I obviously spoil her….

NCL Stock has bounced around since the restart. I have bought at $11/share. Sold at $15. Nice ROI. But, it had risen as high as $22/share, but I wasn't in it then. The OBC WAS worthwhile as I think I received about $600 in OBC in addition to my share gains. Looked a few days ago and it's selling at $13/share. Bookings were strong. And, they have rolled out 2 new ships (Prima and Viva) and will roll out another one Aqua in 2025. They have a new Prima class ship coming out in both 2026 and 2027. So, they are expanding their passenger counts and ships on the water. I would reasonably expect for both revenue and margins to rise as a result.

Looks like the lowest fares on my Prima 2/2/24 sailing were last month (when I booked). Of course, we're a little less than 3 months from sailing, so anything can happen. Worth keeping an eyeball on, though.

Kind of a mystery once you get past those with Latitude status. I don't think they do it based on your check in time. I don't think they do it alphabetically. Could be random for all I know. But, I do think they try to space out the load of passengers boarding. How they do that is a guess. I wonder what the passenger count is between those who are Haven/Latitude status vs those who just booked with no status? I'm sure that goes into how and when guests are allowed to board. They always call (in order)... -those who have mobility issues (wheelchairs, walkers) -Haven -Latitudes (Ambassador first...Bronze last) -a number system assigned randomly The only advantage I can discern by getting to the pier early would be to snag a seat in the waiting area. The down side is, you may be waiting a while to board if you get there early.

Admittedly, weird situation as it was the 2nd cruise after the restart, and it was on the Celebrity Edge, but I was actually on board the Edge at 9:30 a.m. Wasn't planned that way. Was one of those deals where I flew in the day of (another topic I can discuss ad nauseam) and really had no place to go other than hang at the airport (no thanks) or head straight to the pier. Went to the pier. I think the previous cruise had a very small number of passengers, being the first cruise after the restart, and my cruise ended up only being 35% capacity. Arrived at about 9:20. Checked in, and was on board by 9:30 a.m. Eery.......no hustle-bustle. No crowd surging to get on or off. Capt Kate was right at the door personally welcoming me (us) on board. I think the earliest I've even been on an NCL cruise was about a dozen years ago on the Epic for a Western Caribbean cruise. My (then) GF and I got to the port early because of flying in early the day of the cruise. We were in our Balcony Cabin by 10:40 a.m. as I remember her unpacking and asking me what time it was. Latest? Carnival Vista about 3 years ago (right before the shutdown). Again, Western Caribbean.....3:00 p.m. (4:00 p.m. was "all aboard"). Some sort of glitch with the check in computers caused Carnival to do all paperwork by hand, including inputing all pertinent information on paper sheets with pen and paper (pencil would have been better given the mistakes made in doing so). All the FTTF folks were as mad as wet hens.

I’ll never understand it, but some were trying to drive down the price of NCL stocks during the shutdown and restart. They finally admitted they shorted the stock. I get the feeling that some of that still exists in this thread. Israel is not a port NCL is stopping at anywhere in the near future. The ships slated to go there have been re-deployed. It has NOTHING to do with their recent financial performance. They are sailing at or above capacity. While NONE of the cruise companies are happy they had to take on debt to stay afloat (so to speak) during the shutdown, they are all managing it well. NCL is probably in a better spot than they expected to be right now.

I agree. I have seen it where it works the way it’s supposed to work…..Mobility Challenged, Haven, then Latitudes levels, then general boarding by numbers. Pretty cut and dry. Then again, I’ve seen people crowd the doors for embarkation and try to get on board regardless of their Latitudes status or boarding numbers. That causes chaos and a few actually trying to push in front of others, which it turn causes some push back by other guests and the agents. I’ve actually seen people claim to be a part of a limited mobility passenger’s family. Family says they have no idea who they are. Yet, some will do anything to board first. Crazy! Personally, I won’t allow anyone to cut line. If they’re successful, they keep trying to do it…embarking, at the bar on board, in the buffet, etc. I just won’t allow it. I don’t get it. Is it really all that important to board in front of everyone else? Boarding rarely takes more than 30-60 minutes. Just don’t stress yourself out and board when your group or number is called. I ordinarily wait for an hour or so after embarkation begins so it all is cleared out and I just walk on board.

Just was (inexplicably) upgraded to Delta One by Delta on my recent Epic Mediterranean Cruise a few weeks ago. Nice experience. Couldn’t sleep on their “seats that convert to beds”! Pretty uncomfortable as a bed. As an airline seat, it’s way better than the Main Cabin. So is the food. But, nowhere near as good as even regular fast food. Drinks are good. 9 hours on a plane….short of those ultra rich Kuwait Airlines 1st Class seats, a good way to start your trip is Delta One. Bon Voyage!

I equated the GTY as the "Cruise Only" fare. Cruise Only does not include any of the perks like drinks, internet, etc. It does not include "wine anytime", either. But, if you're wanting to book the "all inclusive", with all the perks, the Concierge Class will generally run about $1,000 more than the "Cruise Only" fare. Some Concierge Cabins do indeed have obstructed views.

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/11/01/norwegian-cruise-line-cancels-israel-stops.html Yeah...NCL and Royal have both said the Israeli conflict would negatively impact revenues as they try to find other itineraries. MSC has stated similarly... "MSC Cruises has canceled months of itineraries on two ships amid the Israel-Hamas war. The line scrapped MSC Orchestra’s entire winter schedule “due to the proximity of some ports of call to Israel as well as the number of restrictions in the bordering countries that would have adversely affected passengers’ travel experiences,” MSC said in a news release on Monday. The ship was scheduled to sail the Red Sea from Nov. 8-April 17, 2024. MSC also canceled MSC Sinfonia’s winter schedule from Nov. 12-April 15, 2024. The itinerary centered on Haifa, Israel. The line is also making small adjustments to Grand Voyages on MSC Opera, MSC Splendida and MSC Virtuosa, along with a pair of 11-night cruises on MSC Armonia, though the line is still working through the changes and reaching out to guests, according to spokesperson Field Sutton."

GTY cabins mean Celebrity can pit you anywhere. It’s exactly as it states. It guarantees you a cabin. No perks!

I’ve sailed in a Have Suite 5 times. Maybe I’m lucky, but I’ve never prebooked specialty dinners, entertainment or excursions. My concierges always were able to make my arrangements when I boarded the first day without issue!

Those are the hashbrowns I had on the Epic last month. They also had fried potatoes.

I’ve sailed quite a bit, Europe, Bermuda, Canada, Caribbean…never saw any of that, even at the ports where multiple ships were docked…..even with Carnival. That said, the last time I sailed Carnival, I found two people passed out one early morning on my Havana Cabin “porch”. That was a bit unsettling causing me to call security when they refused to leave my balcony/porch.

Yay……can’t kennel my pup, either. She stays with friends or family…..never a kennel.

Men…in a pub/bar….drinking and talking out their individual lives at that given time. Kinda like sitting in a sports bar where a bunch of friends gather to watch the local team! Nothing deep…just fun!

Was thinking of this last night. I was watching one of the many YouTube cruise channels. There was a young couple who said they’d never sail MSC again. Biggest reason is they almost missed the ship coming back from an excursion because the SHIP posted the wrong “all aboard” time. On top of that, the crew were jerks about it. To me, that’s pretty egregious. Would have been more egregious if the ship would have left me at the port due to the ship’s crew’s errors. But, aside from leaving me on the shore due to the cruise’s error, I’m trying to think of another reason to quit cruising any line. I dunno…?????? I’ve seen similar sentiments regarding Carnival, HAL, Royal, Virgin, etc. The take away, as hard as the different cruise lines try, they aren’t going to be everything to everyone. I subscribe to the crowd who feels…”I’m on a ship, sailing to exotic locales, while people are serving me food and drink, entertaining me, keeping my cabin spic and span every day, allowing me to be as active or inactive as I desire to be.” Pretty tough for me to be unhappy given all that.

Absolutely! @ChiefMateJRK is way more entertaining than I am, though. 😉

Agree! I believe all the cruise lines are faced with the same issue. Hope they all get back to solid financial health!

Seems Royal, MSC and Carnival are moving to the 3 and 4 shorter Caribbean “booze” cruises! NCL was really never into that. They are emphasizing longer cruises, which is more lucrative! Been a few years since I’ve sailed MSC. Wasn’t bad. They just don’t understand the North American market! And, reports from other cruisers I trust state government their crew/staff are surly and spread very thin! MSC was quite dishonest with me personally when I tried to sail with them last year. Not very motivated to sail them these days! Tried to sail Royal 3-4 times since the restart. Actually sailed them once. Not much luck with service nor food (they actually said the buffet was “sold out”…the Windjammer…SOLD OUT! No shows in Two70. Their Caribbean sailings for February 2024 were priced about the same as the Haven-Prima, similar itinerary and time frame. That’s a tough sell. Been a while since I’ve sailed Carnival. I have to be “in the mood” to do that! Seems NCL is focused on their market and are working to serve it!

Probably should have heeded the old adage “just one more” before the show. Ooops….you’re “ratted” out!