frayedend

4 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

No charge if you are in the Haven, if you read the OP’s post. 

I read the post and the FAQ also says no charge for continental breakfast delivery. Nevertheless I just returned from the Pearl and there was indeed a separate menu for continental breakfast.  However it noted there is a delivery fee.  So again the FAQ is wrong. 

24 minutes ago, FreestyleNovice said:

NCL pumping up the vibe for your upcoming cruise for sure 

LOL, are they pumping up the vibe or warning me.  "You need to watch this safety video.  No really, you need to watch.  We mean it this time.  Safety Video.  Watch It."  

15 hours ago, Agent999 said:

So sorry that this has happened to all of you. It is, however, strange to have this complaint given the number of people who were here just last weekend beating up NCL for "poor communication". 

 

Perhaps when people take personal responsibility and don't use "I never got an email" as an excuse things like this can stop. Until then, why not just set an inbox rule to auto-delete any emails with "Norwegian Cruise Line Pre-Boarding Safety Video" in the subject line?

 

Gotta be a better solution than to hope that a post here will make them stop.

Okay, I gotta laugh at your last line.  Only because since I posted here, well, I haven't received another email.  

@omahabob, thanks!  It was really a lighthearted gripe post.  I wasn't really that upset, just making a point and engaging folks on here because, well, that's why we read message boards.

@MoCruiseFan Thanks so much.  I didn't know about that feature. Now to delete the eleventy billion emails in my inbox.  Appreciate it.

11 minutes ago, omahabob said:

I didn't get three reminders at the same time. They were spread out over a period of time, and they stopped after I viewed the video.

I was wondering if they had some way to know you clicked the link.  But I clicked it and left it playing on YouTube a few times and still got new emails.

17 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

It is “normal” for each guest to receive 3 reminders. If everyone uses the same email, you’re the lucky winner of all notifications. 
 

It has nothing to do with any web site problems. 

My wife booked the cruise.  I use my own email and the only reason I think I get emails is because I added the cruise in my NCL iPhone app.  But I have gotten 7 repeat emails.  Funny thing is my wife also forwarded me the email in case I didn't get it. :)

21 minutes ago, Agent999 said:

So sorry that this has happened to all of you. It is, however, strange to have this complaint given the number of people who were here just last weekend beating up NCL for "poor communication". 

 

Perhaps when people take personal responsibility and don't use "I never got an email" as an excuse things like this can stop. Until then, why not just set an inbox rule to auto-delete any emails with "Norwegian Cruise Line Pre-Boarding Safety Video" in the subject line?

 

Gotta be a better solution than to hope that a post here will make them stop.

Wait, so you think because there was some unrelated thread about communication issues, that I had to have seen it and had the same complaint.  Then you figured I posted this just to contradict the last complaint?  LOL

FWIW I did not see any thread about poor communication.  I don't see an issue venting a bit on a board dedicated to the cruise line.  You figure someone at NCL said, "hey, they are complaining about not enough communication, let's spam the crap out of them." for revenge?

Lastly, I'm not looking for a solution. I was looking for some camaraderie from fellow cruisers, who may have been having the same experience.  I got that from the first few replies. 

My goodness, I've gotten the same email, telling me to review the pre-boarding safety video, over 7 times in the past 2 days.  And yes I clicked the link to view the video.  They must have a bad algorithm.

54 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

Ribs at Q were excellent!!!!

That pic appears to be brisket, no?  Unless it's beef ribs with the meat sliced off the bone for you (which is totally normal).  It actually looks pretty darned good for ship food.  I'm a bbq guy so I'm very particular and hadn't thought of trying bbq on a cruise ship.  But that honestly looks better than most BBQ restaurants.

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

I ❤️ crème brûlée too!!  We have only cruised post Covid but it’s been on the menu since at least  Oct. 2021.  I thought the Ile Flontante in LeBistro was very similar to a crème brûlée only lighter.  It had a crunchy top and a creamy meringue below it.  You should try that if you can.

That looks great too and I also have Le Bistro booked next week.  I picked the right 2 restaurants for sure.  Keto diet is out the window next week.

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

@GORDONCHICK @frayedend @UKstages @cruiseny4life  calling all true NY style cheesecake lovers.  If you haven’t tried the OMG Butterscotch Cheesecake in Cagney’s…you must!!  Also Onda ricotta cheesecake is good…but not nearly as good as Cagney’s…IMO.

 

 

 

Awesome.  I have Cagney's booked next week.  

6 minutes ago, UKstages said:

well, that’s one style of cheesecake. and I live in new york, so i can certainly appreciate it. and I do. but there is also italian cheesecake… it’s an entirely different dessert.  lighter, less dense and made with ricotta, not cream cheese. i like them both, but prefer the less sweet ricotta version when dining in an italian restaurant.
 

onda serves a good italian cheesecake. 

Yes, I love Ricotta cheesecake also. It is also a dense cheesecake, baked and cold.  And as you said, usually less sweet.  My grandmother was Italian and used to bring us these from the local Italian bakery in the North End of Boston every holiday.   IIRC it was baked in a thin pie crust/pie dish and she indeed called it Ricotta Pie.   Wonderful stuff.

16 hours ago, GORDONCHICK said:

I am a huge fan of tuna tartare, so that tuna stack looks awesome.  I've never had lobster thermador - it's intriguing.  But since we will spend a week in Maine after our cruise, that may be where I try that dish.  I'm pretty picky on cheesecake and while I'm sure that was tasty, I don't think I can eat something that's supposed to be cheesecake-esk but has more of a pudding or custard texture.  Heck, I won't even eat it at the Cheesecake Factory because they serve it too warm.  Cheesecake should be very cold (I prefer mine just short of frozen) and very firm.  And if it isn't baked, it isn't cheesecake.

GordonChick understands cheesecake.  NY style, dense, baked, and served cold is the way it should be.

I'm a huge fan of the Old Forester 1870.  But I definitely want to try the 1910 as it's been having great reviews.  An Old Fashioned with Old Forester is great.  A whiskey sour is also really nice.  The pic in my profile is my own whiskey sour with Old Forester.  I am guessing the cruise doesn't put egg white in them.

1 hour ago, quagmire0 said:

A service or delivery charge is so standard in society, that I fail to understand the controversy. 😄   🤷‍♂️

I think it's all because the FAQ on the NCL site still says there is no fee for Continental breakfast.  I'm sure it's an easy miss when a policy changes.  It shouldn't be a big controversy.  The short answer to this thread was, "Oh it looks like when they updated the policy they forgot the FAQ, but indeed there is a fee for any breakfast delivery, continental or not."  But it wouldn't be any fun if there weren't a myriad of answers and people getting angry about it.

4 minutes ago, UKstages said:

the thread is really about so much more than “the FAQ is incorrect.”

 

i view it as an allegory, a treatise on man’s inhumanity to man and a delicate, yet simultaneously firm and insistent, plea for tolerance and understanding amidst a sea of mediocrity and price consciousness. 

True, but what if I just order coffee?  🤣

14 minutes ago, UKstages said:

i don’t have time to go back and read it all, but, yes, i believe you’re missing something in the thread. and that is that, sometime ago (last december, I think), NCL started charging for continental breakfast room service delivery.

Then the simple answer to this thread is that the NCL FAQ is incorrect and hasn't been updated properly.  If someone had stated that it would have (should have) been a simple answer.  But I didn't see that in the posts.

ETA:  A quick re-read and Mistizoom did indeed state the website is wrong, on page 2.

9 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

Crikey, lord have mercy, whatever other exclamation you may have. Also...since you keep posting, you obviously do care. If you didn't care, you wouldn't keep posting. 

 

Since our words apparently aren't comprehendible, let's give Cruise Hive a shot. Read this. Maybe you'll get it:

 

https://www.cruisehive.com/norwegian-cruise-line-introducing-new-fee-guests-will-not-like/89662

If you are referring to my post, where I said I don't care, that is my first post in this thread.  So I'm not sure what you mean that I keep posting.  Maybe got me confused with another.

I keep coming back to this thread.  Not because I care.  I like to go out to the buffet or dining room for breakfast.  But I still don't understand the confusion.  The OP was clear in that the FAQ says there is no charge (and no service fee) for Continental breakfast.  So it doesn't matter if we are talking about charge for the food or the $4.95 fee.  If it's "continental breakfast" it should not incur the charge.  Then looking the menu, there isn't really an option or clear delineation on what would be continental breakfast.  I think we all have a basic understanding of what is considered continental breakfast, but there aren't really specific rules.  So who's to know what item you may choose that then incurs the fee.  Maybe I'm missing something in the thread.

Just now, Greener123 said:

I too am more of a fan of the classic cocktails and took up cocktail snobbery since covid 🤣

 

I hope the breakaway can make a better Daiquiri than on MSC Virtuosa - it was bloody awful 

Too often I find bars using sour mix.  I don't mind bottled lemon or lime juice in cocktails.  But sour mix or that horrible Rose's sweetened lime ruins every drink it touches.

23 minutes ago, Elvis1209 said:

In my opinion,  and this i just my opinion, there is only one drink that should be called a martini!  The only variation should be whether you want gin or vodka!  Anything else should go by a different name!

 

Elvis

Exactly right and the point I was trying to make.  The reason I asked about the Martini bar, is that in my experience on most vacations, a "martini bar" will have a bartender capable of making many classic cocktails.  I expect the Atrium bar to be good for a rum and coke, but if I want a South Side, the "Martini Bar" is usually where I'd find it.

5 hours ago, chillyw said:

Speaking of the martini bar, I just had an aviation for the first time and thought it was really good.

 

What's the best gin on NCL to make it with? Hendricks?

I like Hendricks but find it on the sweet side.  I actually prefer Beefeater over some more expensive options.  It's a good all around gin for most cocktails.  But for the Aviation I bet Hendricks is good.  I'm not a fan of that cocktail.  The maraschino and creme de violette are a bit too floral for my tastes.

5 hours ago, graphicguy said:

I have in the past found some bars don’t have ingredients to make whatever I want.  For example, the Martini Bar certainly has ingredients for a wealth of martinis.  But, if you’re looking for brown liquor drinks, might want to look at Maltings?  

 

Mojito Bar, same way.  They make some mean mojitos, not sure they’d have the ingredients to make a B52.

 

In short I would probably look elsewhere outside of the Martini bar, if you’re not interested in a Martini!  Just a general rule of thumb.

Again, the drinks at the martini bars aren't Martinis.  The Aviation isn't a Martini.  A Martini is gin or vodka, and vermouth.  However, in recent years, classic cocktails have been served in martini glasses and called martinis.  What I'm generally looking for is a classic cocktail.  A gimlet with gin would be perfect.  Swap the lime for lemon, add some mint and it's a South Side.  Rum, lime and syrup and you have a daiquiri.  Add some mint, put it in a highball glass and add soda and you have a mojito.  Based on the menu I posted, the martini bar has the ingredients to make all of these, unless they have no mint.  But they have basil and you'd be amazed at what a great sub it makes for mint in a cocktail.

7 hours ago, Elvis1209 said:

Just tip the bartender and he or she will make anything you want, any way you want it made!  They are very accommodating.  Word of advice: if you want something other than a martini, don't go to the martini bar!  

 

Elvis

So unless it's vodka or gin and vermouth only, well it's not a martini.  Strawberry martini, Appletini, Expressso martini, they are cocktails not martinis.  Reason I mention martini bar is that most times that's where the classic cocktails are served.  Things like gimlets, old fashioned, sidecar, etc.  

As a matter of fact, I just found the cocktail menu for the Epic "Martini Bar" and not one of the drinks in this particular menu is a martini.

14 hours ago, RocketMan275 said:

I find that an Old Fashioned is too sweet for my  taste.  

Funny you mention that.  Last night I made a couple old fashioneds without the sugar.  I'm trying to keep on the keto diet.  I even had a mojito without the sugar and it was fine.  The orange liquer in your French Manhattan recipe would be sweet enough for an old fashioned without adding any sugar.