Anniesails

I just received the call today. I was wondering if there is a required amount of gambling that you have to do once on board????:confused:

My Princess Vacation Planner just offered me a free inside cabin for a 5 day Caribean cruise. She called it a Casino VIP Member cruise. I am confused because although a dabble in the casino, I never get rated and am not a big gambler. I guess that these are cruises that are not selling well???:o

Had to switch my Greek Isle cruise date so now we are missing Mykonos but gaining other great ports. Question: is it worth the extra money to go to Mykonos prior to embarking in Athens. Some ppl have told me we aren't really missing anything if we miss it, but I don't know?? Please advise. thank you:confused:

I just booked the last MINI suite on the Emerald next Sept to the Mediterranean, the trips are filling up quick. not sure they will drop in price given the interest. its all in supply and demand.

thanks so much, I knew you guys could help :D:o

No,not for cruise discounts. someone said you could get cash applied to your credit card balance by cashing in the points.

read on a thread awhile ago that it was possible to apply reward points toward your credit card balance. I attempted to do this but do not see it as an option listed under reward redemption. Can someone who has done this tell me how to accomplish it ?? thanks in advance. :rolleyes:

Just left the POA last week, did 1 night over in Maui, went to the Old Lahaina Luau which was awesome. then the Hurricane warnings came, so we missed the overnight scheduled in Kauai but had an unscheduled sea day which was great too. We had a terrific Captain and barely any listing. Great trip all in all.:D

Ate mostly in specialty restaurants and found the food mediocre at best, specifically at LaCuccina the OsoBucco was tough and overcooked, in Le Bistro I had to send the Salmon back as it was overcooked to the point of not being inedible.

 

 

The Oso Bocco happens to be one of my fave dishes and I make it home often it's to be slow cooked probably 3 hours in red wine and stock. So I can't possibly see how tough and overcooked go together its just not possible. Maybe look up the recipe.

 

As for the salmon yes it is easy to overcook and I too would have sent it back if it was extremely dry. The salmon is again one of my fave and I always order the salmon Oscar in Cagneys/Jeffersons.

 

Twenty plus cruises with NCL mainly because of the specialty dining selection and rarely any issues.

It never ceases to amaze me the ignorance spewed on these boards. I do not need to "look up the recipe" as I am an Italian Chef and cook Oso Bocco frequently, to perfection. It is easy to make it tough: 1) use inexpensive cuts 2) don't cook it long enough. Perhaps you should review your culinary information.

I don't think you'll have anything to worry about. People whose expectations are closely aligned with reality are rarely disappointed.

 

 

Have a great cruise!

I rarely if ever get annoyed about postings, but I must admit I don't consider my expectations "not" closely aligned with reality. Ordering food in a specialty restaurant for which you pay extra $$ should be ediible, my valuables should be able to be secured in a SAFE that locks and I do believe we paid for 3 beds so my niece should have been able to stretch her legs to sleep prior to the middle of the cruise. thanks for your input though.

[Hope you have a terrific cruise. Hawaii is awesome.quote=punkincc;43712681]Glad you found the cruise itself terrific although you were disappointed in some aspects. Like you, I keep giving NCL a chance, and all 6 times they have met or exceeded our expectations, so we just keep coming back:D.

We will be boarding the POA on the 16th and are aware that the POA differs somewhat from the rest of the fleet and the reasons related to that which have been discussed here. We have adjusted our expectations accordingly, just in case, but are very easy to please, so I am sure we will have a good trip. How could you not in Hawaii!

Hopefully we will have a better cabin steward, I will avoid the Oso Bucco and Salmon and will be sure to catch the comedian. Maybe I'll even splurge on a massage! Thanks you for the tips!

Edit to say I hope you do not think I am making light of your disappointments. But I am on such a cloud nine about this trip that I don't think anything could rain on my parade, short of perhaps a sinking ship or a direct hit from a hurricane.

The following is Just my humble opinion, when necessary I did complain to the various department heads, etc.

All in all, the cruise (sailing) itself was terrific, despite 2 hurricanes which Hawaii has not seen in decades. Our Captain was experienced and able to steer us out of harms way. Not much movement at all.

Ate mostly in specialty restaurants and found the food mediocre at best, specifically at LaCuccina the OsoBucco was tough and overcooked, in Le Bistro I had to send the Salmon back as it was overcooked to the point of not being inedible. Food for breakfast in the Skyline restaurant was always good.

Cabin Steward was horrible, it took him 3 days to figure out how to open my nieces bed correctly, she was sleeping like a Hobbit for the first 3 nights. Never had adequate towels or glasses and room was never vacuumed but we always did have towel animals. I complained to supervisor who instructed our steward how to set up the bed. I finally was so fed up I adjusted his gratuity which is something I have NEVER done. Our safe was fixed on the SIXTH sailing day.

Had 3 treatments in the SPA which were always terrific.

The comedian was hysterically funny and the shows were good.

All in all we enjoyed the trip because of the itinerary. Unfortunately, I will not be sailing with NCL again. I keep giving them a chance and wind up being disappointed. :mad::mad:

thank you for your detailed review. taking this trip in August with my family of 7 in all/ we got 3 staterooms. I heard the cabins were very small. sounds like you had a great time.:cool:

I will be sailing the POA to Hawaii on Aug 2, let me know if you want me to look for it and what to look for. I am so sorry to hear about the fire I hope everyone is all right.:mad:

call Princess it may be that they aren't posted yet

another way to get cash on board without incurring any fees is to buy Casino Credit , then cash it in at the big Cashier's Cage in the casino for cash. No fees incurred, can also do this with your Princess Visa if you have one and you will get 2x the points.

Sailing on the POA 1st of August and received it. I called and rep stated "approximately twice the usual number of children" have booked the POA this summer, how delightful. glad it is port intensive.:cool:

Booked on the POA the 1st week in August with my family of 8 and can't wait. Will be my 4th trip to Hawaii, one other cruise which was 2 weeks and included Tahiti with Princess. Very nice cruise with lots of seadays. I am expecting a different and port intensive cruise. Can't wait. Have a great time.;)

I mostly cruise Princess and will be Elite on that line soon. Took one trip on Celebrity on the Celebrity Eclipse which is in the Solstice Class. It was unforgetable. The ship is beautiful, service wonderful and food about the same. I enjoyed the novelty of the green lawn with Jazz groups up there during the trip. They handed out picnic blankets and served wine and cheese. Would definately sail with Celebrity again but Princess remains my "go to" line. Enjoy your trip whichever your choose.:)

Thank you so much for posting a LIVE thread from the Regal. I look forward to virtually hanging out and sailing vicariously through you. All the best. :D

there is something to this that op is not telling

I am the OP and can assure you, there is nothing more afoot other than reporting my experience. Not always a big conspiracy. :)

Aren't all Studios interiors? Are interiors larger??:confused:

I had 4 cabins booked on the POA for a trip in August. One of the cruisers had to cancel, this caused us to reconfigure our group to 3 cabins. We had 2 teenagers going with us, so decided to move most of us around and have one cabin with 3 pax .

called Norwegian yesterday to make the changes. The rep I dealt with was clearly annoyed. Asked questions like, what caused the cancellation. Why didn't you make these changes earlier. If you do this again you will be charged. I told him how clear it was that he was annoyed and he told me I had "no idea how tedious this is". I asked him to email me the changes and he said he would.

1 hr later still no email confirmation. Called back and got a 2nd rep who was short tempered but not as nasty. I asked her why I couldn't speak to the rep that booked me. I usually cruise Princess and these folks are cruise consultants, so they get a commission. She explained they don't work on commission just answer the phones and are "so short staffed.":mad:

If you open up one of Pam from Ca post, she has a way for you to email her

I love standing on our balcony wind in our faces, enjoying a glass of wine in our little patch of happiness. I also love watching Ports come into view, I feel it is greeting only us, I know it sounds ridiculous, but that makes me feel special ;)