Sea Monster 2

Hotel should be able to direct you to a pharmacy or lab nearby that can do it— that’s what we did last summer and it worked fine. 

4 hours ago, CDR Benson said:

 

That was Sea Monster 2, and therein lies the specific good your posting of your situation did me.  Thanks to your account, Sea Monster 2 replied with a wealth of from-the-horse's-mouth information.  And from him, I learnt of the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP).

 

Because our next two cruises will take us out of country, both the Good Mrs. Benson and I have established accounts in STEP.  Odds are, we will never be put in a position where that info will need to be accessed by a U.S. official.  But, if so, it will be there---thanks to Sea Monster 2 and you.

 

 

I am a “she,” and I am delighted to hear that you registered with STEP!!  It is a lifesaver when things get difficult!

2 hours ago, llkoolj40 said:

Does having a copy of your passport help in this situation? I have always heard about just taking a copy of your passport with you.

Sure, any specific info helps if you’ve lost your passport.  A photocopy is useful in terms of them having precise info with which to work, but is not itself proof if identity or citizenship— it will make it easier for them to acquire that proof for you. STEP also puts you and your info on their radar should anything go wrong. 

I was a consular officer, the person at the embassy who helps you get a new passport. I’m so glad this turned out OK for you and that you both maintained a sense of humor and adventure during your travails! I would like to add a couple of items to this discussion: the most important one is to always travel with a passport. Bad things really do happen, with alarming regularity, which is why we have consular officers posted in most countries to assist American citizens in distress. Proving your citizenship is the first step to professional assistance when anything happens, including being victim of a crime (or committing one, in which case the US government will monitor your case), having a medical emergency, etc. All US travelers should register their travel plans online with the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program at the State Department’s website— this streamlines assistance and enables the embassy or consulate to reach out to you in an emergency. Cruisers should also keep in mind that there is not an embassy or consulate on every island or at every port— you may need to travel to another city, island or even country for assistance, which can be extraordinarily difficult without a passport. Registering via STEP can facilitate assistance in challenging situations.

 

It sounds as though you both kept very cool heads in dealing with this, and had the resources to navigate the situation. And now you have an entertaining adventure tale for life!

I would like to add to this conversation that the US and peer countries have permanent staff in most countries whose job is to provide assistance to their citizens experiencing distress— I used to do this for a living. If you experience a medical emergency, lose a passport, get arrested, etc, you should always ask to be put in contact with your embassy or consulate. They can assist with medical care, air evacuation, repatriation of remains, issuing a new passport, getting emergency funds wired or processing a loan,  etc. US citizens always register their international travel plans at www.state.gov to facilitate any needed services— other countries have similar services.

I had a lovely experience with the pre-concierge desk yesterday. I was calling from abroad with a poor connection, and it is less than one week until we sail (yay!!!), so the concierge took all of my requests by phone and was just as pleasant as can be. We did not receive any info by mail, but I knew I would find the info here on these board, thank you CC!

Yay, I'm so excited! We've read about him many times and never been able to see him!

Far too much deck space taken up by Haven guests who all have balconies, courtyard, two level posh club etc..

 

Wow. :eek: I understand your desire to find a lounge chair when you've paid for your cruise, and I hope you understand that those of us who tend to stay in the Haven have the same expectation. We pay a significant premium for service and space, and the space is apparently being reduced on Epic. Lots of people have paid for the Haven without being informed that deck 18 is no longer available, or that the additional thousands of dollars they paid will still not get them a lounge chair or space by a pool.

 

For some of the other commenters, I would like to point out that Posh is not open to children, so while that is an alternative to the Courtyard for some people, it isn't for those of us who want to hang out with our kids. We LOVED our two cruises in an Epic DOS, but I suspect we will think twice about doing it again based on these issues. Such a disappointment....

On our first cruise, there were often only a few of us up there, but on our last one it was well-used-- although definitely not full-- every time I went up. Having that quiet, available space was a big perk for us. I do understand that NCL wants to make loungers available for everyone who wants to use them (as they should), but I think the first step should be to work to eliminate chair hogs on the public decks-- if so many unused loungers weren't being "saved," they probably wouldn't need to open up Haven space. That quiet deck was probably my favorite thing about the Haven.

Yours is the third mention I've seen of this-- I'd been hoping each time that it wasn't true, or that someone had mistakenly left that connecting door open... This is a real disappointment. We used that space almost every day on both of our Epic cruises, and I loved it because DS could go there with me, which was important since he's not allowed at Posh and sometimes the courtyard is packed. If it's now both public and adults-only, where are Haven passengers suppose to go in the Haven with their kids when the Courtyard is full?

I've only sailed NCL once, last year on Epic in a suite. We LOVED it, and we'd had some pretty great cruise experiences prior to that. We generally found the service on the ship to be excellent, and the special metallic key-card didn't come out until the end of service when we were paying, so I don't think crew generally knew we were Courtyard passengers until AFTER they had helped us. I felt that the crew was very professional and personable, across the board. The worst service we had was-- wait for it-- from our butler!! :eek: It wasn't really bad, just not what it should have been. I found this ship to be well-designed and well-kept, the food was good (although not the desserts), and the entertainment was excellent. We could cruise on a "fancier" line, but we're going on Epic again in a few weeks because we had such a great time last year and there are a bunch of things we didn't get around to doing on the first cruise. Can't wait!!:D

My head is spinning with the economics and number-crunching on this thread...:rolleyes:

OP, to get back to your original point, I don't think I knew about the DSC ahead of time, but I also wasn't particularly troubled by it until I discovered CC before my first NCL cruise and people were up in arms about it!! I wondered if I should be crusading against the DSC, too.... But then I remembered spending the last nights of cruises counting leftover cash and cramming it into little envelopes and spending our last hours on the ship trying to get them to the right people... and I was relieved that we wouldn't have to go through that again. We loved not having to deal with that, are going on NCL again less than a year later, thought the service on the ship was very, very good (in fact, the worst service we got was probably from our butler, who we had to tip anyway :eek:, and it wasn't THAT bad...). NCL is different from other cruise lines-- you would have to carry lots of cash around because you have different wait staff everywhere you go if you were to tip in cash. We discovered that we love all the choice and flexibility of NCL, and the DSC complements those aspects of the cruise. I hope you have a great time on your cruise, and hopefully you'll find that the DSC is actually very convenient.

Thanks for this thread. We're doing our first NCL suite (usually do RCI and CCL) this summer - and now I'm a little sorry! :eek: We like suites more for the room than for the services and generally ask for nothing...We're traveling with our adult children (who are in inside cabins) and thought an ensuite brunch or two might be nice - but am thinking probably not...Also like to order room service and I really don't care if it takes 30 to 40 minutes for room service to bring it, but if a butler has to interrupt his duties, I'm thinking probably not. It would be nice if we had a choice to call the butler or room service. I guess we're really terrible suite people! :D

 

We asked our butler his hours the first day so that we could respect them. Our only room service request was DS's standing cheesecake order every evening, so he was able to drop that off at his convenience. We did want to have friends up to our cabin for cocktails one evening, so we asked him which day and time would work best with his other obligations and scheduled accordingly. These were the only two special things we asked of him, so I have to say I don't know how it would have worked if we had a spontaneous request. If you are planning on scheduling a couple of en suite brunches, I think you will have no problem if you just work with the butler's schedule when you make the arrangements. Now, re: cabins, we're the same way, we love to have a great room to hang out in, and I have to say our Epic DOS was the most spectacular we've had, by far, and we've had some nice ones!! We loved it so much that we've booked it again for next year, and DS is bummed we can't do it sooner (as am I!!:p). If the cabin is a big focus for your family, I think you will be very pleased! Have a great trip!!

I'm enjoying this thread. Our butler two weeks ago on the Epic was entirely marginal-- not bad, but not going to do a thing he didn't obviously have to do, and he was very mild-mannered and agreeable (even in his resistance!:p), so we weren't driven to be upset. We are not demanding people, but it would have been nice to have someone who volunteered their services or who seemed like they would find a way to get something done. We did discuss with him our expectations (coffee stuff, cheesecake for DS, both of which happened, and restaurant menus, which did not), and he did write them down. We definitely felt that his goal was to do only what was absolutely necessary. I do think that the personality and drive of the butler comes into play, not just the needs and attitudes of the passengers. Just as some pax can be too demanding or make inappropriate requests, some butlers apparently can be lazy or not up to the job. I did think about saying something to the concierge, but I decided that we were not using him to such a degree that I had anything tangible to complain about-- it's harder to complain about attitude than about facts. Of course, for my complacency, I will be stuck with him again next year!!!:eek:

Nita I have seen you on different posts and you are very patient and helpful with newbies asking repeated question or disputing repeated topics.

 

Truthfully I think NCL themselves could alleviate this dispute by UPDATING their website!!! Please see the quote above to SeaMonster from their own FAQs. So cruisers do their homework and read what they think are the ships tipping customs and figure OK NCL obviously knows what they are doing and then find something on CC or other sites and then are either confused, dismiss it, or figure it is debatable etc.

 

Hi che, I agree that it can be hard to get the right info, and you are correct that NCL's site is somewhat unwieldy when it comes to getting details to prepare for your cruise. I've had much more luck getting info on CC, but most cruisers don't know about this site. However, for almost any trip we go on these days we have multiple sources of info-- the website of the destination or company, third-party websites such as CC, guidebooks, TAs, friends and family.... there are very few things we can do in this world for which no info is available. So the same way I would figure out what the weather is likely to be so I know what to pack, I will also try to get a handle on local customs that I know are likely to come up, including tipping. Some sources will give conflicting info, so I plan for the "worst-case scenario," which in the case of tipping would mean having plenty of cash available. And as I said earlier, I always travel knowing there will probably be some unanticipated expenses and that I need to have the money to deal with them.

I've been following this thread with great interest. I think a lot of posters hit it on the head, that when we travel it is our responsibility to know the customs where we are going, including those related to tipping. I can understand OP's complaint that his cruise will be more expensive than what was marketed to him because of these "hidden" costs, but it sounds like his beef should be with his TA rather than NCL, whose policies are publicly available (although not actually blaring from the home page :rolleyes:). NCL is entitled to operate as they see fit within the law, and this is the choice they have made, and obviously it has not had a negative impact on their ability to fill ships.

 

FWIW, and too late for OP, I think it's very important to always have a cash/credit cushion when traveling, because so often there are unanticipated and unavoidable events, such as emergencies, delays, strikes, natural disasters, etc., for which you may have to pay, at least initially, out of pocket. I do fondly remember the days in my youth when I would blithely go trotting off to Europe with $300 in my pocket for weeks at a time... but those days are over! I know a lot more about what can happen in the world and what it can cost to deal with those situations! :eek: I hope OP has a great cruise in spite of this unpleasant "surprise!!"

I think the solo cabins are a great idea and that they appeal to a niche market that has previously been underserved. I think the common area with some activities to facilitate meeting new people is very practical-- what I don't understand is why some of the solo travelers who have posted here apparently would not want to socialize with a couple and assume that couples wouldn't want to socialize with them? I can't think of a reason in the world why these two groups shouldn't enjoy each others' company. I can't imagine closing the door to entertaining or interesting people because one of us is alone or married... I have been "adopted" by couples when traveling solo in the past, and we continue to adopt singles to this day, and I think it enriches everyone's trip!

 

I do understand singles' frustration at not finding these solo cabins available when they want them, but we live in a first-come, first-served corporate world, so book early or consider a different kind of cabin, the same as the rest of us do when trying to get our preference. I do hope that everyone who wants to try out these cabins gets a chance to do so and has a great trip!! :)

We're booked in 17004 in March. I saw the YouTube video when I was researching our trip, but my PCC confirms that the window-washer is normally parked outside of the cabin below, which is consistent with what I see on all the photos I can find. It is apparently sometimes raised in port to clean the windows.

 

If anyone has an update/confirmation of this, I would appreciate it!