New format for silver/gold/plat/plus coupon packet

[Aturnee]

Thanks for the information on the dinner with the officers...it was done randomly in the past and I was lucky to be chosen! I will head for the cruise next office hopefully the line will not be too long...I am on the Epic on February 25 and would like to celebrate the twelve years it took to get to Platinum Plus LOL!

 

 

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[casofilia]

We were on the Gem Feb 7th sailing. Platinum Plus... 4 couples had dinner with the Captain and the Chief Engineer...Was great! Fun and informative not a bit stuffy! Sign up...you won't regret it!

 

Did everyone who put their names forward get a meal the officers or was it just like the old days where only a small number of people were chosen?

[OceanDreaming2]

Did everyone who put their names forward get a meal the officers or was it just like the old days where only a small number of people were chosen?

 

A few years ago, we signed up for dining with an officer and we had the Gift Shop Manager and the Spa Manager. Who would guess they were officers?

[kjquilts]

We were Platinum Plus on the Feb 5th Panama Canal cruise on the Jewel. Great cruise and we enjoyed the PP benefits. Here are some details

 

Specialty Dinners Two certificates for dinner for two were enclosed in the Latitudes Rewards Platinum Plus folder, one to be used at either Cagney's or Le Bistro with a bottle of wine included and one for either Moderno or La Cucina. We requested the Platinum wine list and I don't think it changed from last cruise so we were happy. They did request and take our certificates at restaurant check in and did mention the limitations (appetizer/entree/dessert - $20 limit on entree). Waiter also mentioned limitations when we ordered both appetizer and salad, entree and a side and dessert. We said no problem, we'd pay ala carte for whatever not included. The bills we received had our names on them but did not match what we had ordered .... price was $ -0- so we didn't care. We ran into the same bills not matching meals when our group of 6 with UDP dined together. Waitress "warned" us in advance they wouldn't match but it would be easier for them .... again -0- balance so we didn't care.

 

Laundry Service - One tear off coupon enclosed in folder. Notation said for additional PP members in stateroom visit CruiseNext desk. We ended up only doing one bag of laundry and didn't use coupon. I wrote PLATINUM PLUS on the laundry bag and order sheet and clothes were returned clean and folded as usual. WATER :) Have to admit we've never drank our complimentary bottle of water on past cruises.

This cruise we received 4 bottles and drank 3 of them .... little bonus that cost NCL very little and we enjoyed.

Dinner With Officer We've never tried for this in the past but will certainly do it again. On first day I stopped by CruiseNext office and asked about it. They said there were (I think) 16 PP members on board and we would receive letter regarding details. Received letter on the 8th inviting us to Officer's Table Hosting Event in Tsar's Palace Main Dining Room on Friday the 10th. Meeting place 6:45 at the Art Gallery (glass of champagne) and PP members were matched with their officer. We were lucky enough to dine with Hotel Director Claus Pascher and two other couples. He is very interesting and funny and the company and the meal was great. Bottled water and red and white wine were provided and you could order anything on the menu including the "up charge" items. After dinner we were escorted to the show (which had just started) and seated in the suite balcony seating closest to the stage. I did not see the Captain at the 6:45 pre dinner meeting but talked to someone later who dined with him. They also enjoyed their experience.

 

Miscellaneous

The Silver, Gold and Platinum wine and cheese gatherings were Fri Feb 10th at 5:00 pm and Fri Feb 17th at 1:00 pm. Received one invitation with both gatherings listed. We went to the first one where rum punch and red and white wine were provided. Invitation was not collected and there were no drawings. We later received an invitation to another gathering but had to decline due to dinner commitment. Unfortunately I don't remember the details.

Cruise was great :) Any questions please let me know.

[kjquilts]

Formatting on my previous post is a little odd but every time I corrected one thing something else would shift .... gave up and hit post reply and it is what it is :)

[Cruising...our happy place]

Thanks for the helpful review. Sounds like the PP benefits worked well for you. Looks like it is a gamble what officer will show up for dinner.... but you did well with Claus!

 

 

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[Sand and Seas]

Formatting on my previous post is a little odd but every time I corrected one thing something else would shift .... gave up and hit post reply and it is what it is :)

 

Looks good to us! Thanks for the details on the PP benefits. Looking forward to how the Dawn and Escape will be handling these benefits on our upcoming cruises, but now we have a much better idea of what it will be:cool:

[TrumpyNor]

We were Platinum Plus on the Feb 5th Panama Canal cruise on the Jewel. Great cruise and we enjoyed the PP benefits. Here are some details

 

Thank you very much for taking your time to inform the rest of us with the details of your experience - it is highly appreciated! :)

[millineumwoman]

A few years ago, we signed up for dining with an officer and we had the Gift Shop Manager and the Spa Manager. Who would guess they were officers?

 

 

 

Be glad it wasn't sanitation lol

[hawkeyetlse]

Be glad it wasn't sanitation lol

I know you're joking, but I would be 1000 times more interested in having dinner with the Environmental Officer than with the spa and gift shop salespeople.

[casofilia]

I know you're joking, but I would be 1000 times more interested in having dinner with the Environmental Officer than with the spa and gift shop salespeople.

 

 

I agree with this totally; I would be most disappointed if we ever got those two.

[OceanDreaming2]

I know you're joking, but I would be 1000 times more interested in having dinner with the Environmental Officer than with the spa and gift shop salespeople.

 

 

(y)

[millineumwoman]

The only thing you want to do on embarking is go for lunch, get to your cabin to drop of any bags and bring your bags into cabin , explore the ship (best time to take pics) relax, unpack, eat supper, watch the welcome show (if not too tired) go to sleep ( some it will be to get a drink here and there)

Who has time to stand in line for how long? And they better not be wasting our time selling the next certificates when all these people are in line to confirm parties, behind the scene tours, officer dinners!!

Why can't they add it to your on tv account where we can say yes or no and they can leave the msg of date and times on there?? To easy ? Lol

They should be looking at getting people to the bars to drink whom don't have the ubp rather than wasting time

[NMLady]

...

Why can't they add it to your on tv account where we can say yes or no and they can leave the msg of date and times on there?? To easy ? Lol.

e

 

 

Not all ships have interactive accounts, mostly just the megaships have them.

[texasreb]

Just completed sailing on the Dawn. Some friends joined us that just made Platinum. We have 77 points. We both had the dining package. They had the coupons in the their cabin. They also did not want 5 specialty dining so they said "use these coupons". The ship's staff would not let us use the coupons. Talked with dining, concierge, and guest services. The reply was along the lines of the FREE dinners were in the computer under that person's account. Would not even let them do a UDP dinner with us as guests at the same table using their coupon.

So the paper is just that, paper. Why bother with it ? Two dinners for two went unused.

[KeithJenner]

So the paper is just that, paper. Why bother with it ? Two dinners for two went unused.

 

 

The main benefit of having the paper voucher is that by handing it to the server you are stating that you want to use your platinum meal benefit for that meal.

 

The meals are not transferable, so the staff were quite correct not to allow you to use their voucher. If your friends didn't want to use that perk then that is their choice. I don't use most of the latitudes perks myself.

 

One of the potential issues for some people with the new scheme is that you can't now do what some people used to do and take another couple for a meal, with each person from the couple who are platinum using their voucher to cover one from the non platinum couple. I'd have thought that would have been more useful in your case, but isn't now possible.

[millineumwoman]

So what happens with solo cruisers with these certificates? Can they go to all 4 restaurants or the same restaurant two nights?

 

 

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[nadeki]

Am i misunderstanding? I am platinum plus and next month and taking my mom who is platinum and my niece who is bronze on a cruise on the Jewel.

 

I am okay we will only have one packet and have made all the dinner reservations already.

 

However, they are vouchers for two and am I allowed to use to pay for another person along with myself?.

[KeithJenner]

So what happens with solo cruisers with these certificates? Can they go to all 4 restaurants or the same restaurant two nights?

 

 

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It is unclear at the moment.

 

One thing which the FAQs do specifically state is that you can no longer split your vouchers as you used to be able to do. So, you can go once to Le Bistro or Cagneys and once to La Cucina or Moderno.

 

Having said that, someone has reported being able to split their voucher. To be clear (as it seems that it is necessary to be absolutely clear on this point as shown by other threads on this forum) this is anecdotal evidence and I mention it only out of interest.

 

Where the T&Cs really aren't clear is that they state that solo cruisers actually get two meals for one, which would rule out being able to take someone else. However it then goes on to say that the benefit is only if there are two guests dining on the same visit, so the confusion I reach is that the FAQs are just badly written and, however much some posters on here don't like it, we may have to rely on actual onboard experiences.

[KeithJenner]

Am i misunderstanding? I am platinum plus and next month and taking my mom who is platinum and my niece who is bronze on a cruise on the Jewel.

 

I am okay we will only have one packet and have made all the dinner reservations already.

 

However, they are vouchers for two and am I allowed to use to pay for another person along with myself?.

 

 

 

We don't know exactly how this will be interpreted, and I suppose that it is possible that when there are two platinums in a room they will insist that those two people use the vouchers. However, i think it's more likely that they will only need one platinum to be present.

 

So, if I'm reading it correctly in that you want to take your niece with you rather than your mom then I'm pretty sure you will be fine.

[tampadee]

A few comments to your comments.

 

Yes, the website does say you need to go to the office by 9:00 pm, etc, and that there will be other events such as parties and gatherings so please contact the latitudes office for further information.

 

Point 1. It is in relatively small print and all the text is rub together in one paragraph. Not the most user friendly way to disseminate information.

 

Point 2. With a few more words it could have said "we no longer issue invitations so please contact us for specs on the party. In the past the plat party was by invitation that usually did not come in the packet, so I would not have expected this "party and additional gathering" (or whatever it said, that is not verbatim) to include the plat party. We are after all having a big shake up.

 

Point 3. The manpower in the latitude office is too slim for everyone to call in or stop by, especially since I was told that Miami forbid them from ever putting a sign on the door telling when the party is (that policy was changed by the end of the week and nice professional signage is on order) this week there were two latitude reps on board and one in training. On this cruise there were 400 some silvers and up, with only 10 percent of those attended. Others I spoke to felt very put out that they did not receive an invite as they too, did not take the verbiage on the trifold to mean an invitation would not be forthcoming

 

Point 4. There is no longer a drawing so there is no need for a slip.

 

Point 5. I think the 25percent spa discount (exclusive services only and not combineable with other discounts such as port day) is new.

 

Point 6. Yes, we did use one coupon for Cagneys. It included a bottle of wine, while the other coupon for LeBistro or LaCucina did not. But you got those two extra liters of water so we're even, right? There is a limit of one soup or salad, one appetizer, entree and desert. I also remember there was a limit on the dollar value of the entree but I don't recall what it was.

 

Point 7. Attendance at the party. Yes, that is always an uncertainty, but if they really wanted to solve that, they could require an RSVP. I remember when they switched the party from happy hour to 11:00 am. Quite a change in turn out and I always thought they did it to reduce turn out. It was later moved to early afternoon, which I guess sat a bit better, although we have occasionally had platinum only gatherings at happy hour. This one was at 12:30. Odd time I think, but look at all the money they saved with a meager turn out!

 

Point 8. I have no idea how the priority seating worked. Sorry

 

Point 9. Priority embarkation. I know this will vary by the port since they all have different abilities to handle groups. So for New Orleans, the Suite and invited casino guests were in their usual room. They had roped off a little seating area closest to the embarkation cattle chute and had a very nice but no nonsense lady guarding the entrance. She would check your card and admitted plat plus only. Even if a group had one or two pps and the other members of their party did not, only pps were admitted. There were only 11 onboard and there were probably only 18 or so chairs set out. We went before group one, pretty much along with the suites. They even have a VIP rep who escorts you from the check in line to the seating area. But you do check in at the regular latitude line.

 

Point 10. So you don't have to ask, no, there is not a special key card color, it's just printed on your card

 

Okay, I think I've covered everything, but feel free to ask or expound on anything.

 

Sweet dreams, y'all

Georgia

 

 

Were you charged for sides at Cagney's?

[KeithJenner]

Were you charged for sides at Cagney's?

 

 

The reference to being charged for sides in Cagneys appears to have quietly disappeared from the NCL website.

 

There have been a couple of reports from onboard where it seems that they are including a number of sides. 1 or 2 a person I think, I can't remember exactly.

[Aturnee]

Sorry no information on Cagneys sides. The new LaCucina menu lists complimentary sides....no more pizza or carbonara but a nice veal dish is among the additions. The coquille St. Jacques appetizer among others is not on the new LaBistro menu. I had to ask Cruise Next for my packet. I will report on Officer Dinner later. I am on the Epic and it's tonight.

 

 

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[herdingdogmom]

Am i misunderstanding? I am platinum plus and next month and taking my mom who is platinum and my niece who is bronze on a cruise on the Jewel.

 

I am okay we will only have one packet and have made all the dinner reservations already.

 

However, they are vouchers for two and am I allowed to use to pay for another person along with myself?.

 

On the Star last month, one of us was Platinum Plus and the other Platinum. The cards with coupons are different colors. We each received a card and each had two dinner coupons. We didn't use them all, but had no problem using the ones we did try.

Edited March 2, 2017 by herdingdogmom

[hawkeyetlse]

On the Star last month, one of us was Platinum Plus and the other Platinum. The cards with coupons are different colors. We each received a card and each had two dinner coupons.

I hadn't thought of this situation, very interesting. So couples who are currently one Platinum and one Platinum Plus should enjoy that difference in status for as long as possible, because as soon as they both reach Platinum Plus, their dining benefit gets cut in half. :(