Most controversial cruise opinion??

[Tatka]

2 hours ago, Sailing12Away said:

 

Same here... our 'pizza' in Rome was bare edible. When you picked up the triangle the tip fell straight down and everything fell off the top. First pizza I had to knife & fork that didn't have mountains of toppings on it (there was just cheese... so why could the crust not even support cheese?).

 

Naples... OMG that mozzarella cheese platter we had as an appetizer. It was fresh made cheese like 5 ways (smoked, burrata, etc) and we still talk about it to this day.

 

 

We had amazing pizza in Rome with mozzarella and fresh tomatoes. But we were on private tour and our guide brought us to "local" pizzeria away from tourist masses. Maybe this was a reason.

[graphicguy]

14 hours ago, jsn55 said:

Good to hear.  I've never met a pizza I didn't love.  When you grow up in northern Minnesota and your homemade pizza has Campbell's Tomato Soup as the sauce, you appreciate almost all pizza for the rest of your life.  My idea of gourmet heaven is a big salad and pizza.  My NYC-born husband is scandalized because I like garlic-chicken-broccoli pizza with white sauce (which I first tasted on Long Island) ... but he bravely shares a table with me. 

NCL has really upped LaCucina's menu.  I had pizza one night and lobster ravioli another night.  Both were very, very good.  The pizza is probably the best I've had on any cruise line.

[graphicguy]

22 minutes ago, Tatka said:

 

We had amazing pizza in Rome with mozzarella and fresh tomatoes. But we were on private tour and our guide brought us to "local" pizzeria away from tourist masses. Maybe this was a reason.

Same.  Before COVID, I took my son, my sister and my nephew on an MSC cruise that included stops in Spain, France, Italy, Greece and Malta (loved Malta).  Pizza in Italy was fabulous...with different types depending on which part of Italy we were in.

 

Quite different than what we got on the cruise ship or any pizzeria at home....that includes the boutique pizzerias.

 

[Lunesse]

On 7/28/2022 at 3:55 PM, UKstages said:

my most controversial opinion is that the ship never actually moves, nor does it travel to distant ports.

 

technology has become so sophisticated that they have built elaborate VR and AR simulations of all cruise ship activities enjoyed before the pandemic began. the "ocean water" surrounding the "ship" is recycled over and over, much like the water in a mall fountain. and NCL employs a team of actors, many of whom double as performers in the scripted shows, that meet all guests as they disembark onto a controlled soundstage. they're good, but this is why the "tourists" look the same from "port" to "port," right down to their slogan tee shirts. there is no port... and those aren't tourists. they are actors!

 

the so-called "chair hogs" don't exist, either. there is just one guy, running around at 5 or 6 in the morning, placing towels on all the chairs. those sunglasses and books are "props" left by previous guests.  the chair hog guy actually works for the laundry facility on ship and the whole program was designed to cut down on the laundering of towels. he uses the same towels over and over again, from day to day and cruise to cruise. guests who can't get a chair use fewer towels, so there are fewer to launder. the program must be wildly successful because it still continues to this day.

 

there is actually only one del sol tee shirt shop run by a guy named murray.  (no company, except maybe starbucks, could actually afford to expand that rapidly around the caribbean.) what you see when you "disembark" and visit "del sol" is a holographic recreation of the original shop in key west. same thing with diamonds international. there is just one store! (and those are not diamonds,  by the way, but brilliantly lit shards of glass.)

 

my second most controversial opinion is that the soap, shampoo and conditioner dispensers in your stateroom are the single largest source of disease transmission on the ship.

 

 

*standing ovation* More, more! 

[Lunesse]

What do you love to do that everyone else doesn’t? What can you not stand that everyone else raves about? 

 

I don't care about jewelry shopping seminars, gently used Rolex events, Effy charm bracelets, guys on water taxis sponsored by Diamonds International in the Caribbean with the microphone who joke with the husbands about how all of them have been to Diamonds International, am I right, guys with wives? Any of that, and the shops are always crowded so it definitely is a delight to many, but not me.

 

I can't stand that as a species we have to bring giant, gas guzzling, complete machinery excess to the few wild places left, and are rejoicing that we can get farther into coldest, most remote reaches with our giant wedges of steel  because of the melting ice. I know many are so thrilled to see these places. They are amazing. Galapagos, too. We humans just have to stick our "Homo sapiens wuz here"  messy output every where so we can take pictures pouting with glaciers and iguanas in the background to try to make all our friends and frenemies jealous of our best lives on the other side of  social media. Feeling cute, might delete later while I ride a huge polluting floating metal box into sensitive geographic areas that really should be left alone if we want them to be the wonders they are later, IDK. And yet, I sail every handful of years. Guilty. But not to Antarctica or the Galapagos. Which is still no excuse for my few trips to the Caribbean and one to Alaska. Fight me, self. You suck.

 

I also get aesthetically irritated over ship asses. The way some of them are designed they got butts flatter than a 98 year old man. However, I don't think anyone delights over ship patooties so it's a controversial nonstarter... except in my head. I could be wrong. 

 

I adore taking horrible cruise ship photos, I have a great one where the wind was in all our hair just off a ship in St Maarten and we all have long hair and it was a giant Medusa Fiasco and we demanded, DEMANDED, she not delete it and we bought the matte finished 8 x 10. I met a woman who bought bad ship photos with her husband of people she didn't even know and I adored her for it. So I added perusing all the ship photos put up for display as a quality activity while on board in my to do list. 

 

I love crappy pudding desserts from the buffet  because PUDDING.  I will eat it all. 

 

 

Edited August 25, 2022 by Lunesse

[Calli50]

Don't know if it is controversial, but the muster drill. I know it is necessary but I hate it.

Edited August 25, 2022 by Calli50

[Lunesse]

5 minutes ago, Calli50 said:

Don't know if it is controversial, but the muster drill. I know it is necessary but I hate it.

 I was on Celebrity recently and you watched videos on your phone, clicked "yes" at the end that you had seen it, they then told you in the app where your muster station was, you show up, they check you against a list and boom. Done. Took less than 3 minutes of actual time on the ship at the muster location.  You could watch the videos in your stateroom on the TV too, then go to the location.   Does NCL do it the more old fashioned way? I figured all the app stuff etc. was for Covid non gathering reasons, but it is pretty great! 

Edited August 25, 2022 by Lunesse

[mearsfansinboise]

I love the $10 sales.

I have boxes full of evening bags, scarves, purses, and costume jewelry that I buy for gifts … and never gift. 🤦🏽‍♀️

[complawyer]

you can now view the muster drill video as part of your on line check in procedure

[AndyCapn]

On 8/20/2022 at 8:51 PM, jsn55 said:

Lots of people have fairly empty lives, and they like to create some interesting things to amuse themselves.

This describes about 75% of Cruise Critic posters {and 90% of social media in general.)

[cruiseny4life]

7 hours ago, AndyCapn said:

This describes about 75% of Cruise Critic posters {and 90% of social media in general.)

Someone has gotta ask...are you in the 25%, 75%, 90%, or 10%? I suppose if you're in the 10%, you're also in the 25%, but not necessarily the other way round eh?

 

I know which category I fit in. You don't have to tell me which percent you're in...but you should think about it, rather than just type it and move on to the next post. 

 

After all, what is the good life?

Edited August 25, 2022 by cruiseny4life

[mast3rn8]

8 hours ago, Lunesse said:

I met a woman who bought bad ship photos with her husband of people she didn't even know and I adored her for it. So I added perusing all the ship photos put up for display as a quality activity while on board in my to do list. 
 

YES! I don't buy them but definitely love to grab a cocktail and peruse.

[DAKing240]

On 8/23/2022 at 11:08 AM, graphicguy said:

NCL has really upped LaCucina's menu.  I had pizza one night and lobster ravioli another night.  Both were very, very good.  The pizza is probably the best I've had on any cruise line.

I can't wait to try this pizza!

[cruiseny4life]

4 minutes ago, DAKing240 said:

I can't wait to try this pizza!

It better be really damn good! It's $15 - $19 for a 12 incher...I can get a 16 inch here in Upstate NY that's better than any NYC pizza (yea, I said it y'all) for $20 with five toppings! Pretty sure I won't be trying the pizza in a few days.

 

Source: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/617ac6f28abd337ac8fc5f75/t/6284509bf62e994479fc618f/1652838556065/La-Cucina_Menu.pdf

[vacation44]

9 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

It better be really damn good! It's $15 - $19 for a 12 incher...I can get a 16 inch here in Upstate NY that's better than any NYC pizza (yea, I said it y'all) for $20 with five toppings! Pretty sure I won't be trying the pizza in a few days.

 

Source: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/617ac6f28abd337ac8fc5f75/t/6284509bf62e994479fc618f/1652838556065/La-Cucina_Menu.pdf

The prosciutto one is absolutely delicious.  Even my husband enjoyed it and he is not a huge prosciutto fan as I am .

[weltek]

@Lunesse Agree with everything you said (including the self-lecture), except I feel like the jewelry shopping crowd is a minority thing. They definitely exist, though!

 

 

[DAKing240]

15 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

It better be really damn good! It's $15 - $19 for a 12 incher...I can get a 16 inch here in Upstate NY that's better than any NYC pizza (yea, I said it y'all) for $20 with five toppings! Pretty sure I won't be trying the pizza in a few days.

 

Source: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/617ac6f28abd337ac8fc5f75/t/6284509bf62e994479fc618f/1652838556065/La-Cucina_Menu.pdf

I'd still want to try it, prices aren't outrageous compared to pizza near me, plus everyone raves about how delicious these are.

[skeeter195]

31 minutes ago, cruiseny4life said:

It better be really damn good! It's $15 - $19 for a 12 incher...I can get a 16 inch here in Upstate NY that's better than any NYC pizza (yea, I said it y'all) for $20 with five toppings! Pretty sure I won't be trying the pizza in a few days.

 

Source: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/617ac6f28abd337ac8fc5f75/t/6284509bf62e994479fc618f/1652838556065/La-Cucina_Menu.pdf

Those tomato pies from your area are good along with some traditional pizzas.  The pies from NYC are tough to beat though when the dough is made with their water.   BTW I can't stand NYC for many reasons and only go once every few years for a game and some pizza.  

[GregCousins]

44 minutes ago, skeeter195 said:

The pies from NYC are tough to beat though when the dough is made with their water. 

NYC water??

[skeeter195]

The public water from NYC has been a "secret" for many years when making pizza doughs their.  There have been places around the country known to buy bottled NYC water just for their dough.

[GregCousins]

4 minutes ago, skeeter195 said:

The public water from NYC has been a "secret" for many years when making pizza doughs their.  There have been places around the country known to buy bottled NYC water just for their dough.

Thanks!!  I didn't know that.

[lenquixote66]

On 7/27/2022 at 6:34 PM, Elsammo46 said:

What do you love to do that everyone else doesn’t? What can you not stand that everyone else raves about? 
 

Give me your most controversial cruise opinions! 
 

Mine is that I NEVER sleep in on a cruise; I feel like you’re wasting precious vacation time sleeping in. I set my alarm for between 5:00-5:30 and start my day lol 

We go to sleep at 2 AM and get up at 6AM

[CptAleSpill]

33 minutes ago, lenquixote66 said:

We go to sleep at 2 AM and get up at 6AM

Aren't those the exact hours that none of the bars are open?  Asking for a friend....  🤣

[GeezerCouple]

1 hour ago, skeeter195 said:

The public water from NYC has been a "secret" for many years when making pizza doughs their.  There have been places around the country known to buy bottled NYC water just for their dough.

 

 Fascinating.

 

Has anyone done a proper "blind tasting" of the identical pizza recipe made with "NY water" and some other water?

 

Is the NYC water known for its taste just for drinking?

 

GC

[Sailing12Away]

4 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

It better be really damn good! It's $15 - $19 for a 12 incher...I can get a 16 inch here in Upstate NY that's better than any NYC pizza (yea, I said it y'all) for $20 with five toppings! Pretty sure I won't be trying the pizza in a few days.

 

Source: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/617ac6f28abd337ac8fc5f75/t/6284509bf62e994479fc618f/1652838556065/La-Cucina_Menu.pdf

Thats what the dining plan credit is for. It's a fairly big pizza, I usually can't eat it all by myself after eating an app and pasta dish before it. For a woodfire pizza here in NY those prices are actually right in line with what we pay. (https://www.naplesstreetfoodmenu.com/, https://www.deesnyc.com/menu)

 

2 hours ago, GregCousins said:

NYC water??

Yup, our water is legendary.

 

1 hour ago, GeezerCouple said:

 

 Fascinating.

 

Has anyone done a proper "blind tasting" of the identical pizza recipe made with "NY water" and some other water?

 

Is the NYC water known for its taste just for drinking?

 

GC

Anything bread related is different in NY because of the water. Pizza, bagels.... it's a thing.