podgeandrodge

11 hours ago, WexIrl said:

Also the American Diner was empty anytime we walked by it, and became a bit of joke during the 9 days of why it is offered as an option as it was clearly not appealing to those onboard.

On Breakaway last month American Diner was only open on "sea days", which was 1 out of 11 nights cruise.  Weird rule. Maybe same for you, it was empty as it was actually closed (it wasn't obvious to me until I went in and asked)

I had wings in O'Sheehan's on the Breakaway last month. Nowhere near as good as previous years, dunno how they were cooked.

On the Breakaway recently I generally drank Peroni or Warsteiner. Sure, not craft beers, but streets ahead of Heineken etc. imo.

11 minutes ago, gregluk said:

Other people on facebook on the Norwegian Epic said they boarded at rome and still got charged VAT on all drinks at all ports with the drink package.

 

It can't be to do with where you board surely. Because if you board in Barcelona, but then dock somewhere in spain, that no longer has anything to do with spain, you're totally outside their country and spanish waters.

So if Barcelona is AN embarcation port, you get stung. Off my list so!

Is it possible at all that passengers embarking in Spain on Epic would be auto charged and Rome passengers not? Technically easy for NCL I guess, but there would be Armageddon onboard I'd say.

22 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Could be, but does that make sense? Both Spain and Italy are EU countries, why should the application of the VAT tax be different?

Must be down to individual countries implementation of VAT. Having said that, it also seems to differ between cruise lines!

10 hours ago, crcr27 said:

After many cruises with MSC, Costa, Aida and TUI I now consider booking a cruise on an American cruise line in the Mediterranean sea just to get a different experience. I would have preferred Royal Caribbean or Virgin but I'm on a budget and there are some great offers from NCL this summer. What average age could I expect on board? Also, would it be a lot different on other American cruise lines? 

 

 

I found a good mix of people in 20s right up to 70s.  In the bars in the evening most were in 30's to 50's.

ps - I've been on a few Royal Caribbean cruises and wouldn't see them as being more high-end than NCL - I'd see them as equivalent (though I personally prefer the quality of the food and music offering on NCL).

So I am just back from Breakaway leaving from Civitavecchia.  No VAT charged at all.   Could it be as simple as, on an EU only cruise,  "if you leave from Barcelona you get charged VAT for whole cruise" but "if you leave from Civitavecchia you pay nothing" - seriously something to bear in mind when picking a cruise in future if it is that simple.

On 2/18/2023 at 4:58 AM, Middleager said:

I wouldn't want to go to the front of the line, to show my card/status, to get escorted to table ahead of those still lining up there.  If there is a separate line, like at the time of embarkation, I'd go there.  But not when there is just one line for the MDR.

On 2/20/2023 at 12:25 PM, TSUmom said:

I guess if there were two lines - maybe one for those with reservations I would be more comfortable showing my card but if I did not have reservations I would feel awkward walking in front of others without reservations to show my card.  We dine early usually around 5:30 so we never encounter lines.

Agree with both of these statements.  I'd be morto going to the front of the line.  But if separate line at least it would be official.  (Even more morto if they told me to get back in line 😆)

57 minutes ago, BirdTravels said:

Did you ask someone on the ship?

Now why didn't I think of that!

Yes. "Italian regulations" , would not elaborate. Didn't bother trying to get someone more senior .

On 6/23/2023 at 3:07 PM, Asawi said:

Just went through a pack of Senseo Extra Strong in my summer house. I found it to be OK, but didn't agree on the "extra strong" bit. Still nice though!

Yep, it's good, and only reason I get it is because the "strong" isn't strong enough!

44 minutes ago, chillyw said:

Usually when this happens it has to do with being in their waters and subject to that country's taxes.

 

How long did it take you to sail out of Italian waters? If you were in Italian waters until like midnight or 1AM, they probably just chose to shut it down for the night.

Yeah. The strange thing is the casino was open very quickly after Naples, heading to Livorno and that part of the trip hugs the coast of Italy, and yet all open!

So casino closed all day yesterday, after leaving Livorno, due to 'Italian regulations '. 

But was open the evening we left Naples.

Anyone understand this?

At Livorno, and not allowed to lodge cash to my account , told it's Italian regulations, and I'll have to wait til Cannes tomorrow. 

Crazy stuff!

3 hours ago, UKstages said:

i've eaten at o'sheehan's and the local at 3, 4, 5 in the morning and have always been able to get a burger. the limited "late night" menu goes into effect at 11 or midnight. 11:00, i think. the "normal" lunch and dinner menu isn't available late at night, only the one page "late night" menu.

 

from memory, it includes a cheeseburger, reuben, chicken wings, caesar salad, fish and chips, chili, pretzel bites and brownie cheesecake and carrot cake. there might be a few other items. but those should all be available overnight.

 

it's between 5 and 6 am that gets a little iffy... some times they close, as they switch over to the breakfast menu, sometimes they stay open with an even more limited selection, sometimes they will only bring your breakfast.

 

YMMV.

That's my memory too. But at 3.30/4 last night nothing like a burger to be had.

So O'Sheehan's was only serving a few unappetising sandwiches at 3.30am this morning. They said normal menu finishes at 3am. 

I thought I was able to get a burger later than that on previous cruises, no? Maybe I've made it by 3 am. 

The Norwegian app shows an 'all day menu' and a 'late night menu'. But no closing times. But says "pub grub 24/7".

10 hours ago, UKstages said:

if 2.75 megabits is the new upgraded speed using starlink, fasten your seatbelts, it's gonna be a bumpy night.

Yeah not great eh! Although the premium streaming WiFi likely a lot better. 

But it's fine for surfing and emails. 

15 hours ago, eileeshb said:

Breakaway is an exception as it was the first NCL ship to get Starlink , after the original pilot there was supposed to be roll-out to all of the NCL ships by October but last update was a delay and a second pilot phase on Breakaway. 

Ah that speed is standard across all ships that I've been on for the basic WiFi. As Ukstages said, it's pretty basic. 

On 6/20/2023 at 5:10 AM, UKstages said:

you can use your device as a personal hotspot, but the quality of the internet onboard the ship is so poor that it would not really be worthwhile. you'd have two or more people sharing a connection that is barely 2.5 mbps... usually more like 1.5 mbps. that's not a shareable speed. it's barely good enough for one person to download email. 

I'm on breakaway. Speed about 2.75 Mbps.

Sharing hotspot with a friend in cabin directly across the hallway, and when we're out and about in the bar at night. No problems surfing, WhatsApp, emails etc over the 1 connection being shared.

In fact, last night, there were 5 of us in a bar and only I with the internet. They all connected for a few mins and got up to date with messages etc .

Netflix standard definition only needs 3mbps, so emails etc are not a problem.

I speak of my experience on Breakaway, but if you're getting speed between 2.5 and 3, should be fine .

(I'm also able to check home 4 camera CCTV no probs).

53 minutes ago, omahabob said:

 The 'standard' coffee maker is a drip coffee machine.

 

 

Yes, the Hamilton Beach machine. I bring Senseo extra strong pods with me (Amazon etc) which are great. I find that coffee far more authentic than Neshitpresso hah!

19 hours ago, scooter6139 said:

Haven Burger.  Ok, not great.

 

American Diner.  Meh to bad (split with the wife, as I had the Chicken Caesar)

 

 

Local Western Burger (I think hat was what it was called) Delicious.

 

Meat looks decent enough in those photos.

14 hours ago, omahabob said:

I wonder if that's ship specific. We sailed on the Getaway in May, and we loved the burgers at O'Sheehan's.

Well the O'Sheehans burger on Breakaway was identical to the buffet, and definitely a frozen patty. I wonder, I'm on a 11 night. Perhaps different burgers....but they are crap!

Edit: American Diner closed. Was open yesterday on only sea day of the cruise, they say only opens for sea days. They said it only opens for breakfast now.  Closed every day. Ffs!

6 minutes ago, complawyer said:

patrlr. i was just throwing in a little bit of sarcasm vis-a-vis ncl burgers vs. mickey d's, although you must admit, ncl's are still a cut above. still, rememeber in my post, ncl is grilling out dozens of burgers per meal. while it doesnt justify anything, sometimes quality goes by the wayside when quantity is required. 

 

(1) i may be in the minority, but  a burger on any of my cruises, is so far down on my list of priorities or requisites, as to be almost non existent. i dont go on a cruise for a burger, when there are so many other choices  after 25 ncl cruises, i dont think ive bothered to have one of their burgers more than maybe half dozen times, they're usually dried out to the point of being almost

non-edible, so, most of the time i just pass. i did have an o'sheehan's burger   many years ago, and if was really good. for the most part i avoid o'sheehans, as i think their service "sucks" 

 

(2) By the way, and i think this is most important for those of you that dont live in california, we have in and out burgers. "Nuff said"!!!

A freshly cooked McDonald's quarter pounder would beat the NCL burger hands down. It actually has some texture to it!

I'm not talking about the burger suffering from quality due to how many are being grilled. My last one was hot off the grill and horrible, no way was it a 100% beef burger . Bland taste, mush texture. 

I will try the American Diner tomorrow and hopefully it will be of quality comparable to Royal's Johnny Rocketts , which at least has fresh ground beef. 

2 hours ago, ColeThornton said:

Which ship?

Breakaway.

The burger is absolutely not what I got on the Star late last year, which was quite good.

I've just asked American Diner and they said their burger is fresh not the same frozen burger as the buffet. I'll try it and see!

38 minutes ago, meglet said:

I noticed that too in the Haven Restaurant at lunch.  My husband suggested they were double ground.  Too soft for my liking.

Yes! No texture, if I was told it was a meat substitute I would have believed it.

Since I was last on an NCL cruise, the burgers are different. To me, cheap quality mushy crap. 

Is the American Diner a different burger or the same anyone know?