Escape cagneys shrimp cocktail upcharge

[luv2kroooz]

29 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

Prime rib is no more in O'Sheehans you are right, but it is offered a couple of times on cruises, but it is offered in the MDR a couple of times. O'Sheehan's was never meant to be a place for dinner, it was meant to be and is a Pub like experience with sandwiches, snacks, etc. I  know a lot of people used to want to have dinner there but I never understood this. I think that is why they stopped serving prime rib or other dinner specials.

Although I never ate dinner there, I think OSheehans dinner specials complimented the freestyle cruising concept. It was a nice option for anyone who didn't want the structure of the dining room...maybe they wanted a full course meal with a more sports bar/pub feel. I feel like NCL has lost it's direction with respect to enhancing the onboard experience. They appear to be operating in a haphazard manner and are focused only on generating onboard revenue and service charges.

[Paphillyguy]

Just off the Escape and ate at O'Sheehan's and we foodthe found to be nearly inedible.  Extremely grease fish and chips and slate roll and flavorless hamburger.  

Edited March 29, 2019 by Paphillyguy

[EllieinNJ]

On our Sun cruise in February we were told yes the main course is now $25 pp for platinum but if you want a side each would be an additional $4 pp and if you go over the $25 total you must pay for any extra charge.  This was for Cagneys.

[adam_s_allen]

20 hours ago, LD Silver said:

$6 with gratuity

On top of the 2 gratuities you’ve already paid.

[KonkyWonky]

This has nothing to do with covering costs, it's a blatant money grab.  The shrimp cocktail isn't even the most expensive starter on the menu, but it's likely the most popular hence why the supplement has been added.  To be honest I found it particularly underwhelming anyway.

[newmexicoNita]

23 hours ago, blcruising said:

Although I never ate dinner there, I think OSheehans dinner specials complimented the freestyle cruising concept. It was a nice option for anyone who didn't want the structure of the dining room...maybe they wanted a full course meal with a more sports bar/pub feel. I feel like NCL has lost it's direction with respect to enhancing the onboard experience. They appear to be operating in a haphazard manner and are focused only on generating onboard revenue and service charges.

I am not argueing about wanting to eat there for some. I am simply saying the lack of attendance at O'Sheehans. for dinner may have been the reason they have discontinued serving a full dinner specials. We did eat there on our last cruise one night so we would have time for the show. The place was almost empty. .Could you explain operating in a haphazard manner on board. That is a pretty vague way to put it in my opinion. Just because they stopped serving a few foods has little to do with haphazard. It may have to do with bottom line .

[newmexicoNita]

23 hours ago, Paphillyguy said:

Just off the Escape and ate at O'Sheehan's and we foodthe found to be nearly inedible.  Extremely grease fish and chips and slate roll and flavorless hamburger.  

I think the quality or how the food is prepared at O'Sheehan's varies from time to time. WE have had good and bad fish and chips as well as other foods. We never expect to be the best of the best. It is just a fun place to grab something light, have an adult beverage and spend some time people watching or whatever.

[luv2kroooz]

1 hour ago, newmexicoNita said:

I am not argueing about wanting to eat there for some. I am simply saying the lack of attendance at O'Sheehans. for dinner may have been the reason they have discontinued serving a full dinner specials. We did eat there on our last cruise one night so we would have time for the show. The place was almost empty. .Could you explain operating in a haphazard manner on board. That is a pretty vague way to put it in my opinion. Just because they stopped serving a few foods has little to do with haphazard. It may have to do with bottom line .

Sure, I would be happy to.

 

Haphazard to me means careless, without thought or clear direction. Aside from raising prices and implementing multiple levels of fees and surcharges, what is their mission, what is their strategic plan and direction? Every policy is focused at increasing costs without a corresponding increase to service.  Even their own leader, Frank DelFeeO or Frank Del Cheap-O, says this. They are supposed to be freestyle...feel free to do what you want, but they eliminate a free dining option. They raise drink prices to unsustainable levels and then one month later revert back due to their poor estimate of public outcry. Some people that sailed in January for two weeks were stuck with these high prices and reduced liquor selections. Then, they raise specialty dining menu prices by 20-30%, but no one updated the platinum vouchers for a month or two. Some people were being charged for entres over $20. Others, weren't. Then a month later they adjust their policy to $25 across the board. Now, we have stacked fees and surcharges on frozen, week-old, shrimp cocktail. who would pay for this one time, let alone three times with three surcharges? Three surcharges...1. dining gratuities are included in daily DSC, 2. you have a 20% charge to eat in a specialty restaurant, 3. You have a 20% charge on shrimp. This is something we haven't seen before.

 

Good, solid management....businesses with clear plans and direction....would implement this stuff in a much more professional way. It gives the appearance to the consumer that no one really knows what is going on. It is like an ice cream parlour that offers a flavor of the month. Every month is something different. If cherries are on sale, we will make cherry ice cream and hope it sells. Next month, when walnuts are on sale, we will try maple walnut ice cream and see if that works. 

[reveur15]

19 minutes ago, blcruising said:

Sure, I would be happy to.

 

Haphazard to me means careless, without thought or clear direction. Aside from raising prices and implementing multiple levels of fees and surcharges, what is their mission, what is their strategic plan and direction? Every policy is focused at increasing costs without a corresponding increase to service.  Even their own leader, Frank DelFeeO or Frank Del Cheap-O, says this. They are supposed to be freestyle...feel free to do what you want, but they eliminate a free dining option. They raise drink prices to unsustainable levels and then one month later revert back due to their poor estimate of public outcry. Some people that sailed in January for two weeks were stuck with these high prices and reduced liquor selections. Then, they raise specialty dining menu prices by 20-30%, but no one updated the platinum vouchers for a month or two. Some people were being charged for entres over $20. Others, weren't. Then a month later they adjust their policy to $25 across the board. Now, we have stacked fees and surcharges on frozen, week-old, shrimp cocktail. who would pay for this one time, let alone three times with three surcharges? Three surcharges...1. dining gratuities are included in daily DSC, 2. you have a 20% charge to eat in a specialty restaurant, 3. You have a 20% charge on shrimp. This is something we haven't seen before.

 

Good, solid management....businesses with clear plans and direction....would implement this stuff in a much more professional way. It gives the appearance to the consumer that no one really knows what is going on. It is like an ice cream parlour that offers a flavor of the month. Every month is something different. If cherries are on sale, we will make cherry ice cream and hope it sells. Next month, when walnuts are on sale, we will try maple walnut ice cream and see if that works. 

Well said !

For all those reasons and the poor quality of wine by the glass under 15$ they offer now has convinced me that I will not purchase any Cruise Next certificates on my cruise next month. I will probably try another cruise line next time. WiIl i ever come back to NCL ? Probably but only if things get better...

[littlelulu01]

Well supposedly they rolled out their new up charges on the beverage package due to overwhelming success with test markets on some ships 😂.  

 

Splashed on their website is the claim of the most inclusive line with the free at sea perks.  At this point it’s safe to say the majority of passengers either know they will be confronted with endless opportunities to Upsell onboard to get what they think they received as a “free” perk or be dumbfounded when at every turn they are faced by the extra charges.

 

paying $55 pp pd for a “free” ultra premium beverage pkg  isn’t “free” .  When a cruise line makes these changes to packages and perks it makes me wonder how stupid they must think customers are.  

 

The shrimp upcharge is a joke.  So is the free at sea.  At this point they would be better off canning the entire farce and just charging what other lines do for their packages. Unless you have a perk that gets a discount, the oop  $35/day for internet, excursions double the cost of other lines, a beverage package at $129/day plus 20% service charge with mandatory everyone in stateroom purchase, specialty dining packages that supposedly gets you high quality food but does not include a basic shrimp cocktail?  

 

Not to include something as basic as shrimp cocktail in an inclusive specialty dinner package makes one highly suspect that the inclusive portion of the specialty meal is something far inferior to an inexpensive food basic that most of us use for cheap protein!  

[FSNA5861]

FDR doesn't care about customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction or loyalty to the cruise line.

 

In a recent CNBC interview, he stated "He will add more ships to its line and is going after its fastest-growing customer base.  He is attracting Millennials through Instagram".

 

In another interview he said" the cruise industry is experiencing some of its best years ever, and for cruise companies like his, bookings are robust, with consumer demand high.  Accordingly, consumers can expect to pay more for their cruises than they did in the past, as demand is high enough to merit price increases." He never mentioned increasing your cruising experience.

 

He is definitely looking after his own interests and those of the shareholders.  We should not be surprised with all those increases as he he trying to get more of your hard earned money. Furthermore, most sailings are full.

 

I always had a great time on our cruises and I totally agree with the frustration expressed by fellow Cruise Critic members lately.  We have decided that our next cruise is going to be our last one as we can no longer afford cruising.  The ongoing escalation in prices during the last few years and predicted increases, as per FDR,  is getting ridiculous.  Living on a veteran's pension,  there is no way that we can save enough money for future cruises as cruise prices are increasing way much faster than my pension's yearly inflation indexing.   

 

 

[david_sobe]

I am sad to read the nightly specials of ribs and prime rib have been axed?  Correct, no?
The dinners there on the special nights were quite tasty.  While not the best in the world, where else could you eat unlimited ribs at sea.  Earlier in this thread I was actually joking about prime rib being next.  I had no idea it had already been removed from the special nights in O'Sheehans/The Local.

[tomservo]

4 hours ago, blcruising said:

Aside from raising prices and implementing multiple levels of fees and surcharges, what is their mission, what is their strategic plan and direction? Every policy is focused at increasing costs without a corresponding increase to service.

That is the mission, to keep raising prices. He must think that the experience that NCL provides is worth more than what they are currently charging, so he will keep raising prices until bookings take a hit. He might be right, who knows. Look at DCL.

 

My first cruise ever was on DCL in 2013 on the Dream. It was a 3 night cruise in a Veranda, and with a cast member discount (friends with one of the performers) we paid 600. Even without the discount, it might have been 800 or 1000. Rates have doubled to tripled since then. DCL cruisers complain all the about how crazy the price increases are every year, yet they keep coming back. And Disney knows it. They’ll keep raising prices because they know that the hardcore Disney fans will keep paying it. People vote with their dollars. Cruise lines will keep raising prices as long as they think people will keep paying for it. 

[newmexicoNita]

20 hours ago, blcruising said:

Sure, I would be happy to.

 

Haphazard to me means careless, without thought or clear direction. Aside from raising prices and implementing multiple levels of fees and surcharges, what is their mission, what is their strategic plan and direction? Every policy is focused at increasing costs without a corresponding increase to service.  Even their own leader, Frank DelFeeO or Frank Del Cheap-O, says this. They are supposed to be freestyle...feel free to do what you want, but they eliminate a free dining option. They raise drink prices to unsustainable levels and then one month later revert back due to their poor estimate of public outcry. Some people that sailed in January for two weeks were stuck with these high prices and reduced liquor selections. Then, they raise specialty dining menu prices by 20-30%, but no one updated the platinum vouchers for a month or two. Some people were being charged for entres over $20. Others, weren't. Then a month later they adjust their policy to $25 across the board. Now, we have stacked fees and surcharges on frozen, week-old, shrimp cocktail. who would pay for this one time, let alone three times with three surcharges? Three surcharges...1. dining gratuities are included in daily DSC, 2. you have a 20% charge to eat in a specialty restaurant, 3. You have a 20% charge on shrimp. This is something we haven't seen before.

 

Good, solid management....businesses with clear plans and direction....would implement this stuff in a much more professional way. It gives the appearance to the consumer that no one really knows what is going on. It is like an ice cream parlour that offers a flavor of the month. Every month is something different. If cherries are on sale, we will make cherry ice cream and hope it sells. Next month, when walnuts are on sale, we will try maple walnut ice cream and see if that works. 

Thanks for answering my question; I may not agree with you but you did respond. I do have to wonder how many NCL cruises you have been on to have such strong negative views of the line as you seem to have? My experience with cruising and it goes way back has been; if I had a bad experience or more than one, I just do not sail the line again. I rarely even get onto the website or CC to read what others are saying about the line. I just move on. 

 

There is no such thing as the perfect line and probably rarely a perfect cruise, but some are much better than others and I don't waste my time with those that just don't meet my expectations. 

[luv2kroooz]

46 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

Thanks for answering my question; I may not agree with you but you did respond. I do have to wonder how many NCL cruises you have been on to have such strong negative views of the line as you seem to have? My experience with cruising and it goes way back has been; if I had a bad experience or more than one, I just do not sail the line again. I rarely even get onto the website or CC to read what others are saying about the line. I just move on. 

 

There is no such thing as the perfect line and probably rarely a perfect cruise, but some are much better than others and I don't waste my time with those that just don't meet my expectations. 

Absolutely agree, we are actively looking for alternatives. Candidly, we haven't found anything yet. We are currently burning some cruise next certificates so it is a process. Our time on board in the past for the most part has been good. It is getting stale but I think that happens in part from doing something over and over again. Over the last few years, however, the cost increases are not matched with a corresponding increase to service and experience, in our opinion. Maybe we will end up being last minute sail away rate cruisers with zero on board spend, or just holding out until the supply of staterooms catches up to the current demand and prices adjust.

Edited March 31, 2019 by blcruising

[Harratine]

On 3/26/2019 at 3:37 PM, ColinIllinois said:

 

Shrimp is just shrimp?  No.

 

Shrimp is the fruit of the sea. You can barbecue it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. Dey's uh, shrimp-kabobs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo. Pan fried, deep fried, stir-fried. There's pineapple shrimp, lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich. That- that's about it.

Love the Forrest Gump reference, now we need to cheer on the pier runners,,,, Run Forrest,,, Run