Norweigan reported to be buying Prestige

[Paulchili]

[quote name='computerworks']
I saved a ton of money on my recent cruise with this new system...and speeds were very acceptable. Plus, the package was usable over all your devices... my PC, my phone, my tablet... [/QUOTE]

You would have saved an even larger "ton of money" if the Internet had been free. :D
You can't blame even those "affluent" A cruisers for having something taken away that used to be free any more than the "affluent" O cruisers would not like paying for specialty restaurants (as hinted to above by Mike) Edited September 1, 2014 by Paulchili

[buggins0402]

Actually, it will be fun to see how the market perceives this tomorrow...

[url]http://finance.yahoo.com/q?s=NCLH&fr=uh3_finance_vert_gs&uhb=uhb2[/url]


For investments I tend to stay away from companies that have a significant private holding....but as a user of this particular cruise line I view the minority private holding as a plus, given the news.

[computerworks]

[quote name='Paulchili']
You can't blame even those "affluent" A cruisers for having something taken away that used to be free any more than the "affluent" O cruisers would not like paying for specialty restaurants (as hinted to above by Mike)[/QUOTE]

That is a very fair point. But when your claim to fame is urban chic ambiance and great cuisine, Oceania could not afford to take away [U]one[/U] of those "inclusive" differentiations.

[Tarpeian Rock]

[quote name='kiawahdon']I would not expect FRD or any other shareholders of Prestige to say anything if a deal is in negotiations. Federal/SEC laws tend to put a sock in everyone's mouth until it is officially announced.[/QUOTE]



Which is why I said "when he is free to do so." I completely understand the "blackout" period when negotiations are in progress. And it's FDR.

[hypercafe]

I have it under good authority that the first thing NCL will do is enforce the alcohol policy. After all each bottle the rum runners smuggle aboard costs them 100$ on revenue. This will help keep cruise prices in line for honest people.




Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

[Mura]

I for one hope you are wrong! The NCL policy aggravated me when we sailed on them (twice, once in 2001 and once in 2010) and I'd hate to see them "improve" Oceania that way.

What is Regent's policy about alcohol? The same as O's?

Mura

[Paulchili]

[quote name='hypercafe']I have it under good authority that the first thing NCL will do is enforce the alcohol policy. After all each bottle the rum runners smuggle aboard costs them 100$ on revenue. This will help keep cruise prices in line for honest people.




Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app[/QUOTE]

Can you be more specific about your "good authority"?

[LHT28]

[quote name='hypercafe']I have it under good authority that the first thing NCL will do is enforce the alcohol policy. After all each bottle the rum runners smuggle aboard costs them 100$ on revenue. This will help keep cruise prices in line for honest people.

[/QUOTE]


Since Oceania does allow people to bring wine or alcohol onboard how would that make people dishonest or are you saying those sailing on NCL are dishonest & they are going to start check NCL passengers for RR ?

You make no sense

[hypercafe]

[quote name='Mura']I for one hope you are wrong! The NCL policy aggravated me when we sailed on them (twice, once in 2001 and once in 2010) and I'd hate to see them "improve" Oceania that way.

What is Regent's policy about alcohol? The same as O's?

Mura[/QUOTE]

Regent is all inclusive so they let you bring on all you want, unlike Oceania they save money. Poor Oceania looses lots from the rum runners. I always found it odd that people who look down on those folks who sail those mass market lines smuggle booze onboard to save a few bucks. Thank goodness the rules will now be enforced.





Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

[LHT28]

[quote name='hypercafe']Regent is all inclusive so they let you bring on all you want, unlike Oceania they save money. Poor Oceania looses lots from the rum runners. I always found it odd that people who look down on those folks who sail those mass market lines smuggle booze onboard to save a few bucks. Thank goodness the rules will now be enforced.

[/QUOTE]

Most people just bring their alcohol in the carry-ons no need to smuggle on O you must be thinking of other main stream lines

[Mura]

I freely admit to having smuggled my bottle of vodka onto our NCL cruise by using Rum Runners. But it was because I objected to being told I MUST buy liquor on board at inflated prices. It's a much bigger difference than a "few bucks" and it was liquor I consumed in our room.

I don't need to smuggle anything on board Oceania, and if I take a bottle of wine to dinner I pay the corkage fee.

Hyper, I think you have a distorted view of how the liquor policy works on O.

Mura

[hondorner]

[quote name='LHT28']Since Oceania does allow people to bring wine or alcohol onboard how would that make people dishonest or are you saying those sailing on NCL are dishonest & they are going to start check NCL passengers for RR ?

You make no sense[/quote]
Actually, NCL strictly enforces the "no alcohol" rule, except for 2 bottles of wine at embarkation only. And, those two bottles will be assessed a corkage fee of $15 per bottle at boarding, even if they are consumed in one's cabin.

All luggage is examined for potential fluids, and any suspicious bags will bring an invitation to the "naughty room", where you will be asked to open your luggage and any alcohol will be confiscated. They are good at catching smugglers and can be nasty if you try to fool them.

I sincerely hope hypercafe is being facetious...

[hondorner]

[quote name='hypercafe']...Poor Oceania looses lots from the rum runners. I always found it odd that people who look down on those folks who sail those mass market lines smuggle booze onboard to save a few bucks. Thank goodness the rules will now be enforced. [/quote]
nobody uses rum runners on Oceania, nor do they need to. As for enforcing rules, I thought I put an end to that fantasy of yours when I posted the only rules that matter, the terms of the ticket contract. If you choose to ignore that, it isn't smart to do it in public where everyone knows you're wrong.

[StanandJim]

[QUOTE]A new CEO at Norwegian in 2008 took about 10 minutes to decide the Epic was a gaff and killed the remaining orders, despite the penalties. That stuff is 4 year old news.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="3"][FONT="Tahoma"]You have a kind and generous heart, but the big picture is that Mr. Sheehans' brilliant management decision was to [B]PAY A [COLOR="Red"]MILLION EURO'S[/COLOR] [I][U]NOT[/U][/I] TO BUILD A SHIP![/B][/FONT][/SIZE]
[IMG]http://instapinch.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/durban-drydock-500x500.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/NCL_Epic/Epic_100623-3222.jpg[/IMG]
[SIZE="3"][FONT="Tahoma"]That'a bit like giving I.M. Pei an award for his stunning vacant lots.... [/FONT][/SIZE]

[njhorseman]

[quote name='StanandJim'][SIZE="3"][FONT="Tahoma"]You have a kind and generous heart, but the big picture is that Mr. Sheehans' brilliant management decision was to [B]PAY A [COLOR="Red"]MILLION EURO'S[/COLOR] [I][U]NOT[/U][/I] TO BUILD A SHIP![/B][/FONT][/SIZE]
[IMG]http://instapinch.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/durban-drydock-500x500.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/NCL_Epic/Epic_100623-3222.jpg[/IMG]
[SIZE="3"][FONT="Tahoma"]That'a bit like giving I.M. Pei an award for his stunning vacant lots.... [/FONT][/SIZE][/QUOTE]

Yes, and it was the smart move. A lot cheaper than spending hundreds of millions of Euros to build ships that would have been unpopular because of their poor design, and would have been financed at junk bond interest rates because of NCL's poor financial history.

Sheehan saved NCL from financial ruin by buying out the contract rather than saddling the company with debt it could not afford to carry. Edited September 2, 2014 by njhorseman

[njhorseman]

[quote name='hondorner']Actually, NCL strictly enforces the "no alcohol" rule, except for 2 bottles of wine at embarkation only. And, those two bottles will be assessed a corkage fee of $15 per bottle at boarding, even if they are consumed in one's cabin.

All luggage is examined for potential fluids, and any suspicious bags will bring an invitation to the "naughty room", where you will be asked to open your luggage and any alcohol will be confiscated. They are good at catching smugglers and can be nasty if you try to fool them.

I sincerely hope hypercafe is being facetious...[/QUOTE]

NCL allows unlimited wine to be brought on board for payment of the $15 per 750 ml bottle fee. You are not limited to two bottles.

[computerworks]

[quote name='StanandJim'][SIZE="3"][FONT="Tahoma"]You have a kind and generous heart, but the big picture is that Mr. Sheehans' brilliant management decision was to [B]PAY A [COLOR="Red"]MILLION EURO'S[/COLOR] [I][U]NOT[/U][/I] TO BUILD A SHIP![/B][/FONT][/SIZE]
[IMG]http://instapinch.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/durban-drydock-500x500.jpg[/IMG][IMG]http://www.simplonpc.co.uk/NCL_Epic/Epic_100623-3222.jpg[/IMG]
[SIZE="3"][FONT="Tahoma"]That'a bit like giving I.M. Pei an award for his stunning vacant lots.... [/FONT][/SIZE][/QUOTE]


uhhhh...OK. :confused:

[Mura]

[quote name='njhorseman']NCL allows unlimited wine to be brought on board for payment of the $15 per 750 ml bottle fee. You are not limited to two bottles.[/QUOTE]

Is that a newer policy? I ask because when we sailed on NCL in April '10 we were told NO liquor PERIOD. No differentiation was made between wine and spirits. I would have paid the $15 fee without a problem.

Mura

[njhorseman]

[quote name='Mura']Is that a newer policy? I ask because when we sailed on NCL in April '10 we were told NO liquor PERIOD. No differentiation was made between wine and spirits. I would have paid the $15 fee without a problem.

Mura[/QUOTE]

It's been the policy for years. I'm pretty sure it was that way in 2010, but I can't swear to it. I do recall that the written policy as stated on their website was not accurate a few years ago. It said one thing but the practice was different. A few years ago they finally realized that the written policy stated on the website had to be updated to match their actual rules. Edited September 2, 2014 by njhorseman

[StanandJim]

[QUOTE]It said one thing but the practice was different.[/QUOTE]

[SIZE="3"][FONT="Tahoma"]How can that possibly be?
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMIyDf3gBoY[/url]
I'm shocked, [I][U]shocked[/U][/I] I tell you-
:rolleyes:[/FONT][/SIZE]

[computerworks]

[quote name='Mura']Is that a newer policy? I ask because when we sailed on NCL in April '10 we were told NO liquor PERIOD. No differentiation was made between wine and spirits. I would have paid the $15 fee without a problem.
[/QUOTE]

The current policy went into effect in November 2004; before that, it was strictly "no". The $15 corkage fee was implemented then, and only if the wine was not on the ship's wine list.

That subsequently changed to allow any wine, in any quantity, with the $15 per bottle fee. Liquor has never been allowed.

[Mura]

Very interesting. I got the information about "forbidden imports" from our very active roll call here on CC so since it was a "given" I didn't pursue the issue. And perhaps I just assumed that the ban on spirits applied as well to wine.

While we were leaving from NYC (which is a cab ride to the port for us) I wasn't planning on trying to bring much on board. So I used rum runners for a bottle of vodka and didn't bring any wine on board.

I also left my camera bag sitting on a table downstairs (all my husband's fault) and so I had to buy one at our first port of call ...

Mura

(And Jim/Stan, I'm always shocked myself at violations of rules! Thanks for the clip.) Edited September 2, 2014 by Mura

[Travelcat2]

I have tried for 24 hours to not post on this thread as I am posting on the Regent thread but I cannot help myself. I'm quite surprised to read that Oceania customers have any concern about what NCL does or does not do (also surprised to see someone that sails on NCL on the board -- think Regent and Oceania need a bit of time to absorb this new information).

IMO, there is no chance on earth that Oceania or Regent will adopt any NCL policies. That would be like saying that HAL or Seabourn has the same policies as Carnival. I am not generally a betting person but, in this case, I would bet that little or nothing will change in the foreseeable future. Regent and Oceania will continue to be led by FDR, the food and policies will remain the same, etc. IMO (have to keep saying that or someone will think I am stating a fact:-), NCL will learn from Oceania and Regent - not the other way around. Oceania and Regent are highly successful and are run by the most successful CEO in the cruise industry.

This "merger" can turn NCL into a company similar to RCCL and Carnival with several cruise lines under the same main parent. Each cruise line is unique and pretty much stand alone. Carnival did combine the offices of HAL and Seabourn in 2012. PCH combined the offices of Oceania and Regent about the same time. So, the bottom line for me is to wait and see. I'm definitely not worried. Edited September 2, 2014 by Travelcat2

[LHT28]

[quote name='hondorner']Actually, NCL strictly enforces the "no alcohol" rule, except for 2 bottles of wine at embarkation only. And, those two bottles will be assessed a corkage fee of $15 per bottle at boarding, even if they are consumed in one's cabin.

All luggage is examined for potential fluids, and any suspicious bags will bring an invitation to the "naughty room", where you will be asked to open your luggage and any alcohol will be confiscated. They are good at catching smugglers and can be nasty if you try to fool them.

I sincerely hope hypercafe is being facetious...[/QUOTE]

I am aware of NCL policy
I am sure Hyper is just trying to wind us up :)

[Travelcat2]

After just posting that no one should worry about NCL policies, I came upon one that really surprised me. Smoking is still allowed on balconies. This will change November, 2014 but will still be allowed in casino's only if the person is actively gambling (interesting policy). And, if you smoke on your balcony or stateroom, there will be a cleaning fine of $250 (as if that would stop anyone). Now am doubly thankful that their policies should not affect Oceania or Regent in any way.