amarvel

Surprising an established travel friend or a friend who already asked you to travel is very different than random friend/neighbor or family member sneaking onto a cruise as a surprise.

5 hours ago, complawyer said:

i firmly believe, if they wanted us to join them, they would have brought up the subject. 

This 1000 times, yes! This sentence is the correct thought process and said perfectly.  I think there are very rare times when surprising someone could be ok, but its rare.  But if you plan to do this to someone,  really think it through.  If they wanted you there,  they would have invited you!

we were surprised to see my moms doctor on our "mom survived cancer" cruise. but it was a coincidence and funny. i would not be happy by a surprise "we are crashing your vacation" unless its someone I usually travel with. 

4 hours ago, www3traveler said:

BLISS HOTEL OFFICERS: Posted on  6 December 2023 by EganFire

General Manager:  Djamel Benatmane

Assistant General Manager:  Marites Sonza

Cruise Director:  Dan-Dan Cuasito

Food and Beverage Director:  Zdravko Kojakovic

Restaurant Manager:  Ana Maria Malata

Executive Chef:  Jacob Sarka

Beverage Manager:  Orest Morris Patel

Guest Services Manager:  Manuel Japson

Group Services and Access Officers:  Kathleen Francisco and Vernessa Cadette

Cruise Next Manager:  Sebastian Cremerius

 

Any idea who the concierge is?

We've done the pride twice in a suite. first of all the suites are the way to go because it's just a better cost-effective way and the balconies are way bigger on the pride, and there are some great room configurations. And you still get to go to cagnes for your breakfast and lunch and get all the priority the same as you would with a haven. I actually think the fact its Americans gets a lot more flack than it should.  We have had wonderful service both times we went by the staff. we did not find any difference in service when we left our room compared to any other ship. That said yes the butlers on that ship are different than butlers on any other ship. But what we found was that it's because it's such a port intensive itinerary the butlers are not used to having to work during the day. They kind of expect you to be off the ship touring so if you turn a port day into a sea day and stay on the ship, a lot of times they don't know what to do with you. That said, our first trip on the pride our Butler was terrible and did things that we had to report to the concierge but I still think that was of her own doing, she was just unprofessional.  The second time we went the Butler was fine and actually still fulfilled all of our regular requests no problem.  We would never hesitate to do that trip again and stay in a suite. in fact we've looked at doing it again it's just that it's gotten so expensive that other trips are more cost-effective for a haven.

Do not be hasty on this decision. You really need to think this through. Having 1 person in your party that is not in the haven is probably going to cause a little chaos and might not be worth the snoring problem. Is there anyone that can deal with the snoring that is going on the trip? 

1 hour ago, PTC DAWG said:

I only see that working for a couple with one extra adult, or two smaller kids...not even teens.  

we've done this room with 4 adults and 2 kids 4 times with no issues; however, we actually will be doing it with 4 adults and 2 teens in about 10 days. we shall see if it still works out lol. my 15yo is basically an adult at 6'2". although we are used to traveling together and sharing bathrooms which is why it works for us, and my parents are the only ones we could ever do this with. i think knowing how you travel together is a bigger factor then size/how many adults, etc Because we couldn't do this same configuration with my inlaws, BIL/Sil, friends etc

18 minutes ago, pcakes122 said:

If you are OK with paying for a Haven room and sleeping in a balcony, that's great for you. Not sure I understand why you would want to do that, but it's your choice. I just would expect some sort of discount if it happened to me, so I don't think that the original poster is off base at all in expecting that.

i dont think they are off base and i would fight for something for sure or even file a claim. but with only a few days til the cruise it sounds like it's what going to happen. i think many of us are just trying to give ideas on how it can still work out. at this point you either be upset all week and that ruins your vacation, or you come up with realistic solutions to still make the best of a bad situation. 

28 minutes ago, pcakes122 said:

How do you have the exact same experience if you are in a balcony cabin? For example, one of my favorite Haven features is having the butler quietly set the table for breakfast with a white tablecloth, hot, fresh French press coffee and warm almond croissants while I am still sleeping - and then waking me on his way out.  Awesome vacation experience. Not happening while you are sleeping on a balcony.

 

Different story if there was some financial compensation. But for the same price?? Not the same service at all.

if they were going to share the room anyway, why can't that person come up to the room to have breakfast? if the butler is setting up a meal in the room, it's not like the person wouldn't know when that was happening and still get to share in the snacks, etc. 

 

i do agree that it only works if the remaining 4 people still agree to share the butler services. like ordering room service, the snacks being delivered etc. 

Unless you are in the big king bed in the haven 2 bed the beds arent great.  You should have a fight on who gets to use the balcony cabin. How have you already decided who gets the good bed?  It's not equal at all.  We travel in this room all the time with my parents but know and thus pay less than my parents.  But if you split this 5 ways,  the person in the balcony just lucked out. 

On 2/1/2022 at 10:32 AM, hondo1717 said:

Thank You. Did 13502 have a separate shower?

separate shower from the bathtub in both rooms. but everything in the main bathroom.

4 hours ago, hondo1717 said:

Would anyone be able to inform us of the best Penthouse Suite with large balcony on the Pride of America?  We are looking at 13506 and wondering if another one would be best for a very special cruise?  Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Much Thanks in Advance

We stayed in the room and loved it! We've also been in 13502 which is a little better as it's bigger but can be more expensive. 

I have never been escorted to the haven seating area, we would just show up and take seats in the special area. however i want to say that we were escorted off the ship in a crew elevator on Friday, so they weren't totally not using those back areas.

Any talk of this being the last cruise? Bliss is one of the only ships left not cancelled. Getting a little nervous about Sundays sailing.

1 hour ago, KeithJenner said:

If this was soon after the changes back in 2017 then they may have been correct, but this was fixed soon afterwards.

 

Assuming it was relatively recently then the issue is that the staff weren’t aware of the rules. If in the same situation again then it sounds like it may be worth taking a copy of the wording from the website.

 

Nothing needs changing on the actual rules though, as this situation is covered.

 Yeah it would have been may of 2017 and December of 2017 and 2018. But I'm glad that it's covered now so that if we we go all together again I won't be an issue. But maybe it was a staff issue because we had at least 3 cruises where there was more than 2 platinums in our room and were told no every time. 

10 hours ago, KeithJenner said:

This situation is covered and you should have received 4 meals for two. If you are ever in this position again then go to the cruisenext desk and request your additional vouchers.

 

 

 We did ask and were told no.  We were told that it was per cabin and that there wasn't nothing they could do.  

 

And I am extremely disappointed in these new latitude rewards. I've used my platinum discount so many times and now everything that I loved about platinum is gone. Even the photo discount is a bunch of BS now too. Like they used to let you pre order packages at the platinum discount and now you can't because they threw in a keychain. Really feels like there's no benefit to rebooking Norwegian anymore.

1 hour ago, spanishguy1970 said:

this is my annoyance with the free dinner vouchers per stateroom. If a single person has earned their right to have that free dinner  but decides to travel with a friend or family member whom has also earned their status and the free dinner perk, that means they would have to share the voucher. these people may have different eating hours, one may want to eat early, the other may want to eat late, it just wont matter, they have to eat at the same time because the vouchers are per stateroom. I find it disrespectful and rude. IMHO.  

Yup I've always had a problem with this too. My traveled with my parents in a suite and all 4 of us are/were platinum but we only got 2 dinners total. It was ridiculous. 

1 hour ago, adamnoone said:

 

What are the details of your upgrade? I am still awaiting my Haven upgrade from an aft balcony on Encore this Sunday.

Bid 620pp for haven courtyard. That was pretty bottom bid. Maybe bid 20 bucks more than minimum. Bliss Jan 16th sailing.

1 hour ago, aero777 said:

Processing indicates you got it! 

I'm excited! 

I'm on the bliss jan 16 and my upgrade screen had all offers expired except a haven offer is processing. So I'm assuming we got it?

Would this be the same for Cabo, which is a tender port? Are people skipping it since you cant avoid taking the tender?

In 2013 we got off the ship and there was a guy we paid to take us around. Was the best money we ever spent. But I have no idea if they still have people. I was back in 2015 and 2017 but can't recall if people were there to do that.

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I suggest buying your package onboard. They run lots of specials. There's also a deal that includes photos on a thumb drive/USB but I have never considered it so never got the details. 
 
Remember, a lot of photos will be during your excursions for an extra fee.

They are the same ones you buy online. Just check your sailings and ship the weeks before you get on. Like I said on the POA in December ncl had changed how they did it and I couldn't get a package. They never ran the specials. Even though I had always bought once on board.

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Yes, American Diner free first day.  Since we knew we would have the Haven the rest of the week, we opted for American Diner.  If it’s real windy or blowing rain that wouldn’t be a good option, in my opinion.

Is it free just for haven or for anyone on the first day?

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And prepurchase them. In December I didnt prepurchase because I always bought the package on the ship and was unable to get a photo package. Had to buy a photo book to get the digitals. This cruise I plan to buy it before I board :)

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