boltnut55

1 hour ago, expectthebest said:

We are in a family suite JOY with virtual balcony in 60 days from now.

5/26-6/2/24 Bermuda RT NYC

yes you have access to concierge if you need it. The room I hear is enormous and a 2nd bedroom and bathroom will help our family of 4 quite nicely.

i will write a review of our trip upon our return. I am a very detailed writer with a slight slant towards the sarcastic/ funny side.(search some of my posts lol) 
I can promise you will be amused at our family’s take on this upcoming trip

I'm smiling already; looking forward to reading about your trip even though different itinerary.  I don't know if you've already seen or not, but Youtube has several videos on these rooms and specifically on the room I booked, 15501.

8 hours ago, johnrich said:

Yes, we were on the Joy. We did have access to the concierge before the cruise as well as during the cruise. We used the pre-cruise concierge number to make all our dinner and show reservations. There was a letter in our stateroom when we arrived from the onboard concierge that if we needed anything to let him know but since we already made our reservations beforehand we never even saw or even called the onboard concierge.

When we were at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal, they did have a priority line for us to be in, however there was no one manning any of the check-in stations near our line so check-in really wasn’t priority. 
 

We did NOT have bathrobes in our rooms but did have the upgraded toiletries in the bathrooms. 

Thank you for sharing.  I mean we can get our own cookies and fruit, but it's still a nice touch.  Oh calling someone to get all the reservations would help.  Last time I spent a lot of time online clicking for show and restaurant reservations.

I forgot to ask... did you get any free room service delivery?  Someone (maybe on a different post) mentioned getting 2 free room service delivery.  Thanks again.

On 11/6/2023 at 7:19 AM, evanskl4 said:

Strange. I am in a 2 bedroom family suite in a couple of weeks and I already received my priority boarding luggage tags in the mail. I have friends in the same room type that did not receive them. I wonder if if it because I booked the room earlier (like a year ago) when these things were still offered/promised?

I just booked today and was told I'd get priority boarding. Good reminder to check on this though. I got the feeling this would happen after I arrived and be told to go to a hopefully shorter line but have no idea.  
 

Did you get the 2 days of free room service?  I hate that even though I spoke to NCL that she still gave me incorrect info.

On 3/11/2024 at 7:53 PM, johnrich said:

We stayed in a family suite. We got fruit one night and cookies two times. The priority embarkation and disembarkation wasn’t a big deal. We just really loved the two bedrooms, two bathrooms and big living room. The virtual balcony was nice especially since it was on the cold side several days at sea. But we really missed the fresh air of our regular balcony. 

John:  Were you on the Joy?  I'm hoping this will still happen even though we don't have a butler.
-----------------

We booked the SP category this afternoon for a September Canada/NE cruise.  The butler is not included in the Joy, although I think we are paying the same gratuities (or maybe the butler doesn't get a cut of that).  I used the chat function w/NCL afterwards to find out exactly what came w/it, and this is what she said:  concierge services, priority access on and off the ship, room service, over size bath towels, plush bath robes; concierge  services will include priority services on and off ship, beauty salon appointments, cocktail appointments, restaurant reservations on board, and private art showings and shore excursions booking.

She clarified that there is still a charge for room service, so I don't know what she was referring to as all rooms have room service.  If someone can confirm or deny, that'd be great as I had to correct her on some of the other info she provided, mostly about what my butler could do for us, then to find out no butler.

I would book it more for the size of the room and what's in the room rather than "services." I'm looking forward to not having one of us stand aside while the other one walks by. 

$5 more but larger?  OK, that's better than places that are charging more and reducing things.  Thanks for the notice.  It's good to know ahead of time.  We'll be using it so that we can bring half our clothes.

On 2/14/2024 at 4:54 AM, TeeRick said:

Currently on Symphony and JR’s is $14.99.   The breakfast offering 

has a few charges for “premium” items if you want them.  This ship has both El Loco and JR’s.

Is that $14.99 for any burger, 1 side, and refillable soda?  Thanks.

On 9/14/2023 at 10:23 AM, kwokpot said:

People seem to focus on age but age isn't the issue. It's all dependent on the types of activities and entertainment choices and environment you're interested in spending your vacation. If you're looking for ballroom dancing, big band music, show tunes, '50s sock hop night, comedian shows you're not going to find that on a Virgin cruise. 

That last part is what I'd like to avoid, been there, done that. 

My niece went on VV and loved it.  I did ask about the age thing (and we're "only" in our late 50s), but she seem to think it was no big deal and saw people of all ages, so I also feel better after reading this.  

1 minute ago, firefly333 said:

I dont eat pasta but twice I was sitting with someone else who got it. The Mdr night she was glutton free and they forgot and threw it in some water. She said it wasnt cooked. Another time someone said her pasta also was raw, not cooked. Maybe it's good I dont eat pasta. 

 

I'm doing more pay restaurants. If you had told me a year ago i would have said no, but I'm changing how I cruise a bit. 

Oh no - it's not that hard to make pasta!  I've been on a couple of ships where they threw in some specialty dining... I bet that's a way to change behavior so that we'd try and then pay at some point.

15 minutes ago, LobsterStalker said:

You should have asked your friends to ask him to their every other day cleaning in your room !

Yeah, I know! 😂

I don't know about your particular ship, but most libraries are in an area where there are large glass windows.  On the Serenade, it was actually an open space so not enclosed, so it would hopefully discourage any bad activity. The library is also used to play games so not sure whether he needs the quiet or not.  

My suggestion would be for you guys to look around the ship the first couple of days and locate several places he can work from while you're out.  On another ship (another brand), the specialty restaurants were open because sometimes there would be activities there but otherwise quiet but available.  You can also check w/Guest Services.  I probably wouldn't use conference rooms because that might be in a more isolated area.  Sometimes, it can be a table outside like near the pool but to one side where most people don't use or at the back of the ship where people would sit if they can't find a table in the buffet.  One thought would be if he needed the bathroom, could he leave his stuff out?

I know this is a stereotype, but I'd say it's safe especially for a teen boy.  My daughter was quiet, wouldn't speak up or talk to strangers, and very compliant, so I probably wouldn't have done it.

On 10/23/2023 at 1:14 PM, swoopy2110 said:

Off Liberty last week and felt similar. The food was "ok". Wasn't really hot enough.

 

My Mum had the steak too and it looked pathetic. She said it wasn't good.

 

Comments made to the staff and on the survey.

For the Serenade, I think I ordered pasta 2-3 times and each time it was lukewarm, like even after I mixed it all around (sometimes you do that, and the pasta is steaming - nope).  However, every steak I ordered was great!  That was the best of all the meals.

We got off Serenade last Sunday and were given the choice of morning or evening, although I did try to look sad when he said only one.  It's funny because our friends who occupied 2 rooms down the hall both told him they only want once every 2 days😁  I was like, "What?!" 

We do return to the room mid afternoon and sometimes eat/shower before dinner, so it's mostly about the wet towel on the floor, emptying garbage can, and taking away glassware.  It was maybe already day 5 or 6 when I realized i could have asked for 2 floor towels.  I'll remember next time.

On 10/28/2023 at 12:08 AM, brillohead said:

 

It's amazing, isn't it?  It makes me wonder if those people can find any of their belongings at home.  

Wonder if it was occupied by the kids.  When my daughter went on those week-long trips to visit DC, etc., she'd tell me how messy her friends had the hotel rooms (clothes on floor, things all over the place).

On 10/26/2023 at 1:05 PM, reallyitsmema said:

We are on Serenade now and this is our first time experiencing once a day cabin service as we are only sailing in a balcony this week. We chose morning service and have had no problems at all. 

We got off Serenade last Sunday, so hope you've enjoyed the beautiful ports and that the pretty leaves were still around.

29 minutes ago, miaandmum said:

  Why.. because $5 pp per day goes to the wait staff in the dining room - which remember we never use.  Would prefer to give it directly to staff who make a difference to us personally from now on.  Surely this is a valid reason to remove gratuities and tip as we go? 

I've removed tips once because we had bad service at the MDR and wanted to give tips specifically to the waitstaff they ended up assigning us to instead.  We ended up taking the same amount and giving it to the steward, asst steward, asst waiter, waiter, and maitre'd, so it wasn't to save money but didn't want it to go to the general pot.  What we weren't sure of is whether they actually had to return those tips to share w/others, but we heard about that way after we got off the ship.  This was maybe 20 years ago, so I don't think they shared tips with back operations people at the time.

I don't do it anymore because I've noticed that the waitstaff in the MDR also help out in the buffet (on the ships I've been on), so it's kind of the same thing.  I know you're not getting the same service at the buffet (they sometimes walk by our stacked plates, we have to get our own refills).

5 hours ago, Roybthered said:

So the Norm is that he is getting a decent wage to do a job but still expects tips (of whatever size) to do that said job? Or he might not provide the service that he is paid well to do?

You keep hearing (typed) people on here going on about tips making up a crap or non existent wage so tips should be forthcoming no matter what but the above blows that concept out the water (so to speak).

Yes, it's kind of come down to that.   I don't tip on takeout for food for drinks, but I have friends who do.  They say they feel bad.  These people are making more than them!  I also tell them that it sets up an entitlement attitude that because they'll think that if some tip, then all should tip.  And some people are tipping 20-25% because "you old people used to tip 10%-15%, but now it's 30 years later."  I'm like "y'all need to understand math!"  It's proportional.  That dinner used to cost $4, and now it cost $40!

5 minutes ago, ReneeFLL said:

There are probably some porters that make a comment like “that’s it” (referring to a tip) hoping to get more. They know that they are trying to intimidate people and unfortunately it sometimes works. People allow themselves to be messed with too easily. Don’t let yourself be one of theme. We have yet to have anything happen to our bags. If you want to tip, that’s fine, but don’t do it because you are afraid something will happen.

I agree that I don't think they will take the time to mess w/people who don't tip because they won't remember after a few minutes and also waste of time.  I tip primarily because our bags are heavy, but it's maybe something like $5 for 3 bags.

On 9/4/2023 at 3:48 AM, nelblu said:

I tip the porter at check-in time due to my concern that my bags will not make it to our cabin.  Mind you these guys make a hell of a livable wage.

I'm in San Francisco, and the minimum wage is $18.07/hour.  I'm guessing a porter who belongs to a union would make several times that.  On one trip, I gave our luggage to the porter and tipped for our bags, and our friends (and other random people) piled on, and he was like, "this is all the tips?"  I'm like... he knows which bags are mine!  I'm a reluctant tipper but will make sure I tip to ensure my bags make it too😂

16 hours ago, LilBlackDress said:

We grabbed stuff from Park Cafe or WJ and put it in our room for late-night... It's hard for us to turn our hours upside-down for 1-2 weeks of vacation 

Ah yes, that's a good idea we forgot about.  Thanks.

Have you booked your cruise yet?  We'll be on 7 nights 10/15-10/22.

I'll be on Serenade in October, so it's disappointing to hear about the food, BUT I was on NCL in Dec for 14 night Panama Canal and recently again on NCL for B2B Alaska, and each cruise, everything was too salty, so I had to preorder low sodium at the MDR every night.  "No taste" might be a good change for me 😁

Thanks for mentioning that there is no Sorrento!  I was expecting pizza anytime.  From your research, is there any food, other than room service, on the ship in the wee hours past 1:00AM?  We're night owls, so we get up at 11:00AM and sleep around 3:00AM-4:00AM.  Thanks!

Just wanted to share that I followed suggestions!  I rolled tightly, stuffed well, and ended up doing laundry twice, which really was a splurge for us cheapies.  😁  We had 19 and 18 items respectively:  5 "undergarments" including sports bra, 1 pair of socks, 2 shorts, 3 jeans, 1 workout pants, and 7 tops followed by 2 undergarments, 1 socks, 2 shorts, 2 jeans, 2 pants/slacks, 2 dresses, 6 tops, and 1 dress shirt.  We were pretty impressed.

Photo #1:  We bought tape at the Dollarama in Vancouver specifically for the bag (if my husband thought I was nuts then, he didn't after we used it!)

Photo #2:  The steward said at the earliest, it'd be ready the next afternoon, so make sure you don't put on your DND (we did the first time because we didn't know, so it was delivered in the evening)

Photo #3:  neatly folded for us and wrapped in tissue

For future reference, you'll receive the notice on the night of Day 3, hand over the laundry on Day 4 when you leave your room, and get your clean laundry in the afternoon/evening of Day 5.

My 14 day cruise was technically two 7-day cruises, so we had 2 opportunities.

30 minutes ago, Middleager said:

Reminds me of those grocery store, all you can fit bagel days.  Fit as many bagels into a paper bag

There's a Chinese grocery store near me w/a hot deli where you pack your own boxes like chicken wings, chow mein, sweet and sour pork, etc.  Your box doesn't even have to close, so my husband packed something like 24 wings in a small box for maybe $7.  One day my daughter has a potluck and comes over to have Dad pack for her because it was too much pressure in case she packed less.😁  I think he crisscrossed them to build layers.

9 minutes ago, mking8288 said:

We began using those ultra-light, elastic plastic shipping bag (Amazon, LL Bean, Land's End, etc.) as liner/insert for NCL's thin paper bag 

 

Our trick to not let things fall out is to use a t-shirt or something similar, fold that & put 1/2 on the bottom side and the other 1/2 on top and cover, effectively sealing the bag/plastic liner.  Alert the steward ahead to collect them in the morning - have yet to hear that the offer is valid for one bag only. 

Thanks for the t-shirt idea, just what I needed.  Will check around the house for something to line in similar size.  We'll aim for 1 bag but helpful to know 2 may be possible.  Thanks again for the details.