Recent Joy Cruise to Bermuda -- Random Things Heard Around the Ship

[egurbi]

Rather than provide a trip report, thought I would report on some random chatter I heard on my recent Joy cruise to Bermuda.  I had a great cruise, but recently you can see some of the bloom coming off the NCL rose, and that is sad indeed.

 

1.  "It's the supply chain."    Was told this on two separate occasions, once by a chef in the buffet trying to explain why they were not carving turkey on All American Dinner night in the buffet (something I look forward to), and instead substituted pork ribs. The other occasion was at one of the bars where they ran out of a certain vodka brand.  To be honest, I was disappointed but not surprised.  I survived.  Yes, first world problems. But it's the little things that make you come back.

 

2. "Sorry, only two additional pillows available."  So much for my request for a total of 4.  Must have been rationing the pillows this trip.

 

3. "We need more people at deal or no deal."  One of the more funny solicitations I have ever heard over the PA.  Should have just charged all passengers an additional $1 to make up for the lost revenue.

 

4. "Please avoid crowding the gangway"  Good luck with that.  For some reason, everyone needed to get off immediately upon arrival in Bermuda.  It was a mob scene. Strange for a 2.5 day stay.

 

5. "Get in the shortest line you see."  Employees directing people in the New York City terminal at embarkation to check-in lines.  So much for Platinum or CAS perks. Most people in those priority check-in lines had neither status.

 

6. "You get one appetizer or salad, one entree, two sides, and a dessert."  Regardless of whether you are using Platinum dinner or Free at Sea dinner, they finally got all the waiters at the specialty restaurants to the same meeting to impose the same rules.  But, rules are made to be broken -- no charge for ordering an appetizer and salad at Cagneys!

 

7. "Sorry, Platinum perks not available."  Spoken in a matter of fact, I don't care manner by Next Cruise desk. They did the wine of the worlds event and nothing else. Honestly, the wine event was so poorly done, they would have been better off not doing it at all. No explanation of wines to speak of, and very poor quality wines poured.

 

8. "I'm training."  Lots of new employees.  But extremely friendly, everyone always greeted me in the hallways with an acknowledgement and friendliness behind the mask.  Seems like happy employees.  I hope so.  Putting up with not particularly well behaved passengers must be very difficult. To that end...

 

9. "Washy, washy, except half the people ignore you."  This is the lament of the greeters at the buffet, as one of them told me the final morning.  There is a special place in hell reserved for those who don't wash their hands before going into the buffet. What's so hard to do? Sorry, but the 30 seconds you spend doing it is a good deed.

 

10. "The entertainment is lit." Heard this one from a passenger.  I thought it was very good, particularly Elements.  Comedians could really, really, use an upgrade.

 

 

 

 

[BirdTravels]

1: We have seen/heard this on all recent cruises on NCL and Royal Caribbean. "No, bartender, please do not try and substitute pina colada mix for coconut syrup in my drink". On the NCL Encore we went through 4 wines on the "freebie platinum wine list" before we found one that they actually had onboard. And I spoke with ship's sommelier on the Breakaway last week and he said that they can't keep wines in stock - they either don't show up or the wrong wines show up in their orders. 

 

4: Always a lot of crowds on NCL ships, especially if they are using facial recognition. Disembarkation from Royal ships go remarkably smooth. 

 

7: While some posters here on Cruise Critic call me a liar, when I talked to the Cruise Next manager last week, he flat out said that since they offered us the Latitudes party and wine tasting, they did not owe us any other compensation for other perks not offered. On prior cruises, we got some token OBC. 

[cruiseny4life]

11 hours ago, egurbi said:

9. "Washy, washy, except half the people ignore you."  This is the lament of the greeters at the buffet, as one of them told me the final morning.  There is a special place in hell reserved for those who don't wash their hands before going into the buffet. What's so hard to do? Sorry, but the 30 seconds you spend doing it is a good deed.

Let's be real about washy, washy. You (hopefully) wash your hands before going into the buffet. Great! Your hands are clean for that first go round the buffet, or that first wipe of your hands on your pants. 

 

That fried chicken you got. Mmmm greasy and crispy! Eaten with your hands. Burger? Hot dog? Eaten with your hands. Again, yum! Oh no! My nose is running, because I put too much Texas Pete on my eggs. Going to just wipe 'er off with the ole back of my hand. 

 

Let's make a second trip to the buffet. Oh! Look, we don't have to wash our hands, because we already did. 

 

Germs are a fact of life at the buffet. If you don't like it, don't go. Washy, washy - who cares. For the record, if a sink is available to me, I'll wash my hands. I would like to know what land-based buffet has a sink or sanitizer? None, I've ever seen. 

 

Personally, I'd rather just spoil the environment by using single-use gloves each time I go to the buffet. 

[cruiseny4life]

11 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

4: Always a lot of crowds on NCL ships, especially if they are using facial recognition. Disembarkation from Royal ships go remarkably smooth.

We had a great disembarkation from the Getaway in April using facial recognition. Legit didn't wait in a line, just walked through, paused for ten seconds, and was on my way. No passport, no questions, it was grand!

 

Hope you have that experience next time! 

[hallux]

12 hours ago, egurbi said:

Comedians could really, really, use an upgrade.

What comedians did you have?  The ones that were on for my cruise in March were good.

[Turtles06]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

We had a great disembarkation from the Getaway in April using facial recognition. Legit didn't wait in a line, just walked through, paused for ten seconds, and was on my way. No passport, no questions, it was grand!

 

Last October, it was the same for us disembarking from the Breakaway in NY.   

[PTC DAWG]

I feel for Comedians these days…many people are just looking for a way to be offended..

 

What was the vodka brand that went missing?  I have a guess. 

Edited August 23, 2022 by PTC DAWG

[ChiefMateJRK]

1 hour ago, cruiseny4life said:

We had a great disembarkation from the Getaway in April using facial recognition.

 

1 hour ago, hallux said:

The ones that were on for my cruise in March were good.

Are you sure you folks were on NCL? 🤣

[psac]

>>6. "You get one appetizer or salad, one entree, two sides, and a dessert."  Regardless of whether you are using Platinum dinner or Free at Sea dinner, they finally got all the waiters at the specialty restaurants to the same meeting to impose the same rules.  But, rules are made to be broken -- no charge for ordering an appetizer and salad at Cagneys!

 

Funny that they’re imposing the same rules, but the wrong rules. The terms and conditions only mention the upcharge items and the one entree rule, that’s it. 
 

https://www.ncl.com/specialty-dining-package/faq

 

 

[teachberry]

On the Star (both cruises we were on), I received a $25 OBC for Latitude perks not provided. I had to ask for them. The perks not provided were the ship tours. 

[egurbi]

On 8/23/2022 at 9:23 AM, hallux said:

What comedians did you have?  The ones that were on for my cruise in March were good.

I won't besmirch them by mentioning their names.  They just weren't funny at all. About a quarter of the crowd walked out mid-performance.  I do feel for comedians seeking not to offend these days, but these were just bad.

[egurbi]

On 8/23/2022 at 8:42 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Let's be real about washy, washy. You (hopefully) wash your hands before going into the buffet. Great! Your hands are clean for that first go round the buffet, or that first wipe of your hands on your pants. 

You wipe your hands on your pants?  LOL.

On 8/23/2022 at 8:42 AM, cruiseny4life said:

 

That fried chicken you got. Mmmm greasy and crispy! Eaten with your hands. Burger? Hot dog? Eaten with your hands. Again, yum! Oh no! My nose is running, because I put too much Texas Pete on my eggs. Going to just wipe 'er off with the ole back of my hand. 

Let's make a second trip to the buffet. Oh! Look, we don't have to wash our hands, because we already did.

No extra charge for washing your hands again. Yes, most people don't.  I get it. They should.  If more people did, we would have less norovirus on the ship.

 

Texas Pete on my eggs! At the buffet on NCL? Now that's something I'd like to see.  It's tabasco or bust these days (see point number 1 -- "It's the supply chain.")

[CleverUserNameHere]

On 8/22/2022 at 9:22 PM, BirdTravels said:

we went through 4 wines on the "freebie platinum wine list" before we found one that they actually had onboard. And I spoke with ship's sommelier on the Breakaway last week and he said that they can't keep wines in stock - they either don't show up or the wrong wines show up in their orders. 

 

We found the by-the-glass wine selection to be very poor on the Joy. About two nights in we gave up on the wines and learned that we have to order our cocktails "double" in order for them to have a significant amount of alcohol in them.

[CleverUserNameHere]

On 8/23/2022 at 8:42 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Let's be real about washy, washy. You (hopefully) wash your hands before going into the buffet. Great! Your hands are clean for that first go round the buffet, or that first wipe of your hands on your pants. 

 

That fried chicken you got. Mmmm greasy and crispy! Eaten with your hands. Burger? Hot dog? Eaten with your hands. Again, yum! Oh no! My nose is running, because I put too much Texas Pete on my eggs. Going to just wipe 'er off with the ole back of my hand. 

 

Let's make a second trip to the buffet. Oh! Look, we don't have to wash our hands, because we already did. 

 

Germs are a fact of life at the buffet. If you don't like it, don't go. Washy, washy - who cares. For the record, if a sink is available to me, I'll wash my hands. I would like to know what land-based buffet has a sink or sanitizer? None, I've ever seen. 

 

Personally, I'd rather just spoil the environment by using single-use gloves each time I go to the buffet. 

 

If you don't wash your hands after you serve yourself at buffets you are asking for the runs. And THAT'S a fact. 

[MoCruiseFan]

On 8/23/2022 at 8:42 AM, cruiseny4life said:

Let's be real about washy, washy. You (hopefully) wash your hands before going into the buffet. Great! Your hands are clean for that first go round the buffet, or that first wipe of your hands on your pants. 

 

 

I NEVER use that nasty washy washy crap nor does anyone in my group. We are all adults and know how and when to wash our hands.  Proper hand washing is FAR more effective than that silly all but useless washy junk.  It is only a last ditch effort for the nasty people who do not wash their hands.

[hallux]

55 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

Proper hand washing is FAR more effective than that silly all but useless washy junk

I just wash my hands using the hand wash station (soap and water with motion-activation and sinks) at the entrance to the buffet.  Best design choice EVER on the ships I've been on (Bliss, Joy and Royal's Anthem all have this setup but the other ships in those classes all have them too I'm sure).

[julig22]

On 8/22/2022 at 6:22 PM, BirdTravels said:

7: While some posters here on Cruise Critic call me a liar, when I talked to the Cruise Next manager last week, he flat out said that since they offered us the Latitudes party and wine tasting, they did not owe us any other compensation for other perks not offered. On prior cruises, we got some token OBC. 

On the Star earlier this month, got the OBC.  They did not offer the wine tasting.

On the Dawn last month, no OBC because they offered the wine tasting (as stated by the CN manager).

 

As with so many comments about policies and services these days, timing is important.  What happened last week/month/year/decade may no longer have any relevance to what is happening this week or on a particular ship. So the wine tasting seems to determine whether or not they believe they are sufficiently providing Platinum perks on a particular ship on a specific sailing. 

Similar issue with the Platinum meals - sometimes it's for any specialty restaurant, sometimes only for those listed on the coupons. No clue what determines that adjustment.

[JGmf]

2 hours ago, egurbi said:

Texas Pete on my eggs! At the buffet on NCL? Now that's something I'd like to see.  It's tabasco or bust these days

 

Yeah, Tabasco...eww.  Not sure why it remains a market leader. I've been lucky to find Sriracha, but have to hunt for it.

 

1 hour ago, MoCruiseFan said:

NEVER use that nasty washy washy crap nor does anyone in my group. We are all adults and know how and when to wash our hands.

 

Geez, what's harm in squirting your hands with the stuff?  Even if you pre-washed.  Standing on principle on such a trivial matter?  OK, to each their own.....

 

 

[Turtles06]

49 minutes ago, hallux said:

I just wash my hands using the hand wash station (soap and water with motion-activation and sinks) at the entrance to the buffet.  Best design choice EVER on the ships I've been on (Bliss, Joy and Royal's Anthem all have this setup but the other ships in those classes all have them too I'm sure).

I too love that newer builds have hand washing stations at the buffets. Celebrity has also put them into at least some of their “revolutionized” older ships. 

[PATRLR]

1 hour ago, MoCruiseFan said:

I NEVER use that nasty washy washy crap nor does anyone in my group. We are all adults and know how and when to wash our hands.  Proper hand washing is FAR more effective than that silly all but useless washy junk.  

What is nasty about it?  What exactly is it, I don't know but assumed it was a sanitizer.

[scooter6139]

1 hour ago, MoCruiseFan said:

I NEVER use that nasty washy washy crap nor does anyone in my group. We are all adults and know how and when to wash our hands.  Proper hand washing is FAR more effective than that silly all but useless washy junk.  It is only a last ditch effort for the nasty people who do not wash their hands.

 

You must mean hand sanitizer?  That stuff works really well, sometimes better than a poor/lazy attempt at water hand washing.  I do both at the buffet if available.