Out to sea!

For private Mommy and Daddy adult time.

Can't you just hang a tie on the doorknob like everyone else? :D

call it what you want: of course "required" does change it to a service charge, but that isn't what this post is really about. In my opinion, the package does offer free, unlimited alcohol. Whether there is a one time service charge or not. You have your ideas, I have mine. I think we will have to agree to disagree; end of the story for me on this one.

 

Mitsugirly: I do understand what you are saying, I still have to question the 15 min wait and feel the bad experiences at the bar are not the norm. Remember I am generalizing, I am not saying it can never happen. All I can judge the bar service on, is our experience and we just have never had a huge problem, before or after the introduction of the UBP promos.

Except the alcohol isn't free if one must pay a required service charge to select the package. It may be cheap, but it isn't free and therefore what NCL is doing is false advertising.

I was on the Getaway on the April 18 cruise. I didn't have the UBP, and only ordered drinks while playing in the casino. The service was the worst I've ever experienced on my many NCL cruises. I also tip at least $1 for each drink so that didn't make a difference.

If the service was that bad, why did you continue tipping above the 18% included service charge?

We are all aware of the changes, but it is still basically free. You are not paying for the booze. If I get a coupon for a free pedicure and there is a required gratuity, it is still free. the service is not but the product is. As for the service we had no problems on the Jewel in April and our daughter had no problems in May. She was on the Dawn. I did have to wait about 5 minutes at the atruim bar. Even the casino servers were around every couple of minutes and the casino bar was very quick.

"Required Gratuity" is an oxymoron. If it's required, it's a service charge. If it's a gratuity, it's optional. ;)

John Heald was actually on our sailing for a Q & A. He explained that the ship's security removed their passports from the safe and left them in Roatan with authorities. They were able to reboard the ship in Grand Cayman. I'm sure this was an expensive process. Cell phones reset times automatically - so everyone needs to understand "ship time" and "local time".

Actually, cell phones only reset if cell service is turned on. Keep the phone in "Airplane" mode (no cell service) and the phone won't reset.

OP, as per your question, I have only seen cards changed at Guest Services once onboard, not during check in at the terminal.

What happens when you want to watch the sunrise? What time are people allowed to go out and lay on the deck?

You can go onto deck any time you want, day or night. And there are no rules against sleeping on deck either. It just makes it harder for the cleaning crew to do their job in the wee hours of the morning which is why it is discouraged (sleeping on deck).

Correct. However, as you just got off a cruise to Alaska my comment remains since you said you removed the 18% gratuity.

 

Harriet

Yes. I was just ensuring people understand that is the NEW policy, not the old policy that many people booked their cruises under. Also, to be correct, I did not remove the gratuity at the restaurant as there seemed no way to do so so therefore I removed the equivalent from the DSC (which, IMO, should be lower anyway to compensate for specialty servers being removed from the DSC pool).

Servers do not get a part of the DSC when working in Specialty Restaurants.

 

Harriet

Anymore. They used to be part of the DSC before the 18% specialty restaurant gratuity started about 3 months ago.

How much are they? someone ask me to bring them some.

Prices vary by brand. Pall Malls cost me $29 per carton on the Sunshine back in March.

I've seen people (usually the hubby) sleeping in a clam shell at 4 in the morning on the Sunshine Serenity. :eek:

Couple of thoughts: I've read on these threads that these cooling issues have increased over the years. Many have said their earlier cruises on Carnival and other lines were more comfortable in the past, meaning in my book someone (bean counter) mandates saving some money by scrimping on air conditioning, or being an over zealous greenie. Carnival guest services/engineering state their acceptable temperature range per cabin is between 68 and 74 degrees which in theory is reasonable. If I can have my cabin in the lower range say 68 to 71 degrees I'd be more than happy/satisfied. I've had interior cabins and one ocean view on various levels many of the lower levels without balcony cabins so the balcony door open issue makes little if any difference.

Open balcony doors door make a difference to not only that cabin but cabins around them. Cruise might have been cooler in past years due to fewer balcony doors available to be left open by inconsiderate cruisers.

Thermostat? We have never seen one on a ship.

 

All they have is a dial from cold to warm and not sure that even works very well.

It's usually on the wall next to the bathroom (yes, it's usually a dial but for all intended purposes, that is your thermostat). I can't remember sailing a ship that didn't have one (except maybe the Jubilee but that was a looooooong time ago).

Have had many great cruises in insides, in a studio, and balcony cabins. Nothing wrong with an inside. :)

Except on the Epic where an inside cabin is only 128sf! :eek:

It's not free. The gratuities are now something you have to pay for. My reasoning for saying this is not free, is just a few month ago, we sailed on the Epic, had the UBP and there was no service charge. Now there is. I get it, they changed the offer. I guess my problem with this is, you have a 'forced gratuity' that everyone has to pay in your cabin. If I book now and want the UBP, I have to pay an additional gratuity. That's insane! Have you seen the service at these bars? It's terrible. You stand there for 15 minutes and are not looked at or asked if you want anything.

If they're saying it's free - it should be free. This current incarnation of the UBP is not free.

There is no "forced gratuity". Just came off my Alaska cruise and there was no gratuities in the specialty restaurants when I booked last year. Take the cruise and now they have the 18% gratuity in the specialty restaurants. Simply went to Guest Services and removed the gratuities paid in the specialty restaurants from my DSC and everything was a wash.

It's not worth the cost for that little bit of time. You really need a full week...then, the "crowds and lines" won't be such a factor. I would wait until your son is about 8, tho...that's when they really get the "Magic" that is Disney! Go in "off" season (not summer or holidays) and the lines are fast and crowds aren't a problem. Take your kid out of school and do it...it's worth it!

 

You will be spending more time on transportation on the excursion, than in the park. Once you get to the parking lot, it's about another 30 mins. before you get INTO the actual park! 1 partial day is NOT enough.

You must not have been to Disney lately. In the last few years, there has been no "off-season" at Disney. Crowds and long lines every month of the year now. For the most part, foreigners have filled in the gaps.

The Getaway is one of the only ships that NCL is not doing assigned port arrival times. I called last week to check.

Granted, I've only taken 2 NCL cruises (Epic & Sun, 3rd is today on Sun) but I have never had an assigned port arrival time. :confused:

Just curious, which ship was this and when?:confused:

 

It may be that the Food and Beverage Managers are having a competition to see who saves the most per cruise?? That would solve the mystery of why so many different reports of PGP experiences?:):)

 

:)

In my experiences, the beer has never been watered down. ;)

The man KNEW the girls were breaking curfew. Why would he be "protecting" them from security? He is also guilty of using common sense! Not to mention that he was helping them break curfew by pretending to be with them.

That may be but is it a cruiser's responsibility to do Security's job? If one wants to report issues to Security that is fine but are you saying a cruise is required to? If not, then it doesn't matter if the man knew it or not as it is obvious he wasn't going to report it.

It takes a village to raise a child. The poster followed a gut filling and did the right thing. Everyone is afraid of getting involved today. Parents need to wake up.

See, that right there is one of those sayings that just pisses me off. It took me and my wife to raise our children properly and that is the way it should be. We made those kids and we are the only one responsible for those kids, no one else. I don't want or need a village to raise my children and I sure don't want stupid thoughts like this put into their head by said villagers either. I raised my kids to be independent thinkers and adults and not need a village worth of input to do what they think is right. Maybe that is why I just mind my own business unless I see a serious safety issue in progress (a guy with a knife or gun in his hand pointed at the kids would have put me into action.....not playing cards on the floor of an elevator).

You have a right to your opinion and it may be valid for you but it's not valid for everyone else and please don't assume it is.

Not necessarily. People thought it was creepy for a middle-aged man to be hanging out in an elevator with young teen girls who were strangers to him, helping them skirt the curfew rules.

 

You don't think anything sounds a little off there? I would think it a little off if a woman, who was also a stranger to the kids, was doing the same thing, but I will admit that a man doing it is a little scarier. You could call that sexism, but it is reality that most sexual predators tend to be male. (And no, I'm not automatically assuming that a guy doing this would be a sexual predator, but there is certainly a chance that he could be.)

Truthfully, if I saw a guy with three teenage girls sitting on the floor of an elevator the only thing I would thing is "why the hell are they taking up all of this elevator space?". I surely would not have inquired into their relationship nor would have I said anything other than hello and goodbye.

Quit complaining...YOU have it really NICE. :cool:

 

All that room in a Van!!! Try living in a 4 door sedan or even a 2 door. :o :p

Van.....short for Vancouver.....:p

I'm just amazed that anyone would defend this guy considering the situation.

If you can tell me what rule or law he broke other than violating your sense of morals, I will agree with you. Otherwise, no, he as a paying customer has the right to be wherever (as authorized), whenever he wants on the cruise ship and your morals don't get to play a part in that.

Why didn't the man call security immediately? Can't believe that he thought three young girls out that late was acceptable - I think it was weird that he chose to stay with them instead of calling security.

It really doesn't matter what he nor anyone else thinks is acceptable. The only thing that matters are rules or laws. Yes, the teens were in violation of curfew but the man may not have known that or possibly didn't want to get the girls into trouble. Either why, what does it matter?

But let's get one thing straight. The man in the story is the only one innocent of breaking any rule. The kids are guilty of breaking curfew and IMO the parents are guilty of using common sense. The only innocent party here is the one being jumped on.

I beg to differ. The gentleman may have had good intentions but what if he didn't?

The bigger issue is the irresponsible parents.

Your SIL did the right thing and I really hope that security gave those thoughtless parents a stern warning.

And the same goes for a woman. Until I posted, everyone thought the guy was creepy because he was a guy. You can't look at a persona and tell if he/she has good intentions or not and, IMO, the SIL was a bit nosy in trying to find out if there was any relation or not between the two. The kids were out past curfew, why didn't the SIL call security then instead of waiting until she saw a man with them? Would she call security if a woman had been with them? Would she have been nosy enough to ask if a woman was related? If the kids are breaking curfew, call security for that reason if you are so inclined. And someone should smack the parents for telling them to leave the cabin without them in the first place (at that time of night).

If someone wants to live in fear of "what ifs" then they should barricade themselves in their house, close all the blinds, and pray a tornado or hurricane doesn't come.