NLH Arizona

1 hour ago, erdoran said:

I have no problem paying it.  I tip over and above as well to dsc people where warranted.  I think it’s unfair to crew to make them dependent on the whim of the cruiser. 
 

re land based restaurants it’s totally different.  Kitchen, laundry and other non customer facing staff are paid by employer directly.  It’s a given you will tip about 20% more or less.  Known fact.  
 

and I’m not picking on ncl.  I find the dsc practice deceptive and unfair to crew across the entire cruise industry.  That goes for all cruise lines who bury it.  Just add it to the invoice total at booking time and make it mandatory.  Done deal.  No deceit. Crew benefits.  Cruisers know total fixed cost.  

The crew, no matter if no one paid the DSC, would still get the salary that they agreed to in their contract.  They make over and above that with the amount of DSC that is paid by the passengers.  I know if I knew I would get more from a DSC or tip, I would work harder to make sure the passenger is happy.  There are always going to be those that don't like the DSC, but it is what it is.

29 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

I don't see what the big deal is.  Most, if not all, of the major cruise lines add a service charge to your bill to cover the tip.  It's not just an NCL thing. 

Some posters just dislike NCL so much, that they blame the automatic service charge/gratuities, that most cruise lines do, on them.  I'd bet that these folks would be the first to complain if NCL added it to the fare, just as many did in Europe when NCL did it there.  Reason, they don't want to pay it no matter if it is through the DSC or added to the fare.

Some folks leave tips and some folks don't.  They are not expected, but are appreciated by the server, no matter what the amount is.  If I feel the service is above and beyond, I'll leave a tip.  

9 hours ago, leaveitallbehind said:

 

The concept of tipping is likely more relative to the US market and may be expected by those baggage handlers, but courtesy should be worldwide.  And BTW, we also have not encountered issues in the US as described by the OP.  Although some friendlier than others, they have always been courteous with us. Unfortunately, our least pleasant experience with less than courteous staff was in Vancouver, BC.  I guess people can have bad days wherever they are based.

I've always had baggage handlers who were friendly, with the exception of one, and never asked for for a tip.  After they take my bags, I'll give them a tip and thank them and I always get a thank you.  That one was in the UK and he was so rude and threw my bags....I didn't tip him, because I did research, but felt he thought everyone from the US should tip him and when I didn't, that is when he threw my bags. 

On Facebook, NCL said one person died of natural causes and 19 had stomach related illness.

1 hour ago, styxfire said:

 This is the modern world, many lines of Cruise ships already offer this functionality.  

Which cruise ships offer this?

Try cutting out the label and mailing it to the company and request you are taken off their mailing list.

3 minutes ago, Oakman58 said:

 

That would suck not having a safe.

I agree.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

Both ice and towel animals are by request.  Did you ask your Cabin Steward or call housekeeping to request these items or did you leave a note for the Cabin Steward requesting these items?  If you never got your towels replace with clean one, this is unacceptable and you should have asked to speak with the Housekeeping Manager.  If you didn't see your Cabin Steward, did you call housekeeping and tell them that you haven't seen him/her and that you would like to speak to him/her.  Sometimes I don't see my Cabin Steward for a few days, because I seem to be out and about when they come by.

Not having a safe is not acceptable and if guest services didn't send up maintenance, NCL is totally wrong.

Did you ask to speak to someone else at the excursion desk?  If they said no, did you go to Guest Services and explain your issue?  I have a real hard time understanding some accents, so I feel your pain on this one.

Food is subjective, what you call hospital food, could be perfectly acceptable to others.  I personally haven't found any food on their ships that I would consider as bad as hospital food.  BTW, I usually always lose weight on my cruises; not because the food is bad, but because I usually don't snack between meals while cruising, which I do at home.

I would email Guests Relations After Your Cruise and ask your questions = https://www.ncl.com/case-submission.  

BTW, don't worry about us older people, you'd be surprised what computer skills we have.

On 12/2/2019 at 5:35 PM, cruisekitty22 said:

Sailing on the Getaway next week (Dec 8th 2019 - out of NOLA)

 

We photograph all prescription bottle information on our cellphone and bring the phone with us.  We carry the pills in a weekly organizer.

 

Is this okay and legal?   More organized than bringing all the original bottles and no risk of loosing a bottle.  Our pics show all the information on the label.

I do the same thing and have never once been asked to see the pictures or questioned about the weekly organizer.

1 minute ago, farmermark said:

"Not knowing your issue"   -very accurate wording; why did you bother then?    

"I think the cruise lines have made monsters out of their customers, because they hand out perks for the littlest issues."...why I said  "   I understand a business cant give away perks and refunds etc. with every little mishap.    But  trying to use reason with NCL customer service when NCL is only at fault.....they leave a lot to be desired. "      The issues; not issue were big enough my son will likely never go on another cruise again.  I had two fantastic cruises with them that had minor issues like leaving us stranded for a couple hours missing part of an excursion ...like I said also things break...you roll with it and move on.    But my 3rd cruise that you chimed in on was far from small issue. 

Like I said, to some, it is only bad customer service if they don't get what they want.  Some issue are NCL's fault, but it doesn't mean they have to give cash, OBC, future cruise credit, etc., an I'm sorry is adequate for many issue where folks want something.

35 minutes ago, farmermark said:

After reading through all of this I had to go back to original posting and read the topic.    Boils down to "Customer service".   Yes ports change, yes weather changes plans, yes things break.  BUT customer service should be done with a mentality of "Can we do something for customer" .   I am only a 3 time cruiser with intent on narrowing gap with rest of you fairly quickly.  But NCL who I thought would be my go to cruise line; value without excessive elegance; just left me looking elsewhere after back and forth emails with customer service.   Done a little looking at it seems NCL customer service ranks lower than other lines.   Granted I don't think I would care for a job just know that job is going to be dealing with people with grievances day in and day out.   But i had situations on my last cruise that were NCL's fault, not weather or anything else.  Three of us in a cabin.   Without details lets just say NCL's offer of $50 on board credit  for future cruise for 2 of 3 of us was shocking to me.   I responded back thanking them for the credits; but tactfully asked for a little more and reminded them there were 3 of us.  Asked since I was booked on a NCL cruise coming up could they bump up my internet pkg or something else small as well.   The answer I got back...lets just say my next NCL might be my last and I am giving Princess a try in 2 months.    I understand a business cant give away perks and refunds etc. with every little mishap.    But  trying to use reason with NCL customer service when NCL is only at fault.....they leave a lot to be desired.

I really like when someone says that NCL's customer service leaves a lot to be desired, because they won't give them what they want.  Not knowing your issue, but what they offered, I would guess the issues wasn't a big one.  

I think the cruise lines have made monsters out of their customers, because they hand out perks for the littlest issues.  They should fix the issue and a simple "We are sorry, but the issue has been corrected" should suffice for the majority of issues.

As far as change in ports, I don't think the cruise lines owe the customer anything other than to reimburse them for their port fees.  If someone, like the original OP, wants to visit a particular port, the best advice would be to do a land trip, because you never know what will happen.

12 minutes ago, Cherryblossom66 said:

 I personally don't think that is correct because if only 1 person in the room got the package they would still get the 2 bottles of wine. 

That one person is also paying the fare for two, because of the single supplement.

21 minutes ago, Casey2828 said:

This is our first time cruising on NCL and it has been many years since we last cruised. We would like to bring a case of our favorite wine.  We don't mind corkage fees.  It's only fair.  Getting it on board might be challenging.  We will likely need a porter and is a case of wine counted as one of the two suitcases allowed?  Can one bring 2 cases? Cruise is the Gem for 19 days.

I once saw four cases in front of a cabin.  Maybe get one of those old luggage carts.

2 hours ago, waterbug123 said:

 

I agree.  If you have no intention to sue, and you said you don't, what's the point of telling them "I'm an attorney?" 

When this happens, the person is using it as a threat in order to try and have them reverse their decision.

24 minutes ago, DZcreature said:

I am sure I will find something to eat, but I can't deny that the cutbacks are starting to add up. It can influence future bookings, and a hesitation to buy cruise next vouchers.

You might want to look at Celebrity and Crystal.

2 minutes ago, JBorowicz83 said:

I am sure there is a cost reasoning behind this. There used to be a lot of crab and lobster on cruises back in the day. When I was little I remember my parents on Carnival where they could order as many lobster tails as they liked. Every thing is driven by money and cost, so I assume there is more value in the changes. I do love some seafood though. I always balked at the BBQ....just not the same but I always have at least on option I enjoy. 

I think you are correct about cost, at least where lobster is involved.  When it was available I think many were glutenous when eating five, six and even saw someone post that they ate twelve.  When they were in the buffet, I saw folks whose plates were piled so high that the lobster was spilling on the floor.  I believe if folks just had one or two, they might still be on the menu.

15 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Agree. No loss. 

The new turkey cottage pie was very good. 

Based on the new menu, thanks Birdtravels, possibly the seafood wasn't a big seller and that is why they changed it to more non-seafood offerings.

2 minutes ago, www3traveler said:

Me too

Me too, would love to see more non-seafood options.

Just now, JBorowicz83 said:

Was looking for information ahead of time is all. 

Don't think anyone can give you a definite answer, since it can be okay on one ship and not on another.

27 minutes ago, JBorowicz83 said:

I don't know if its stealing if you pay for the package and then the upgrade on top of that, simply asked if they would be upset if you shared a bottle of wine at dinner.

Why not ask if the wine can be shared on the ship, because you would get the best answer from them.  They will tell you if it is okay or if they consider it stealing.

OP also said "The other side of me said but hey if another couple was cruising with us we could always pick up double specialty coffee, drinks, etc. for the group."  Seems like, at least to me, that they are trying to figure out how to scam the system.  Actions like these are the reason the package prices keep going up. 

18 minutes ago, fshagan said:

On our recent Breakaway cruise we missed two ports, and overnighted in San Juan. A tropical storm affected our itinerary, and then a medical emergency forced the ship to sail closer to San Juan later in the cruise for a helicopter evac, and we couldn't make it to Nassau, so we had an extra sea day.

 

The lobby was full of people asking what was going on, with some complaining. We hung around to hear how people react. We heard things that I'm sure people didn't mean, but said in their frustration. The "white uniforms" were in the lobby in force to help explain things to people. This is how several of the exchanges went:

 

White uniform: We had to divert because of a passenger requiring medical attention, and we were in fear she would die.

Passenger: That sounds like her problem. Not mine.

White uniform:

Passenger: Well?

White uniform: We are required by maritime law to do whatever we can to save lives.

 

Wow, people can be so mean and insensitive.  

30 minutes ago, clo said:

I'm 72!

You have a few years on me 😊

6 minutes ago, clo said:

I'm at six not having been to Australia which is outrageous since I worked for QANTAS back in the 80s. I'm considering NZ which seems more interesting to me for some reason.

Same for me, still haven't made the trip to Australia and at my age probably won't.