Service expectations on ncl?

[Daruma]

7 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

I can tell the younger posters from the older ones just by their responses to this thread. But seriously, I think it's more than just this thread. Younger folks look at things differently than us older folks. Not better or worse, just differently.

 

So... am I younger or older? 😆

[yakcruiser]

10 minutes ago, Daruma said:

 

So... am I younger or older? 😆

You're the toughest one to guess but I'm going to say the older end of the younger crowd. How wrong am I?

[Daruma]

2 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

You're the toughest one to guess but I'm going to say the older end of the younger crowd. How wrong am I?

 

Depends on your age range definitions... I'm 56 😁

[Daruma]

3 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

You're the toughest one to guess but I'm going to say the older end of the younger crowd. How wrong am I?

 

My 22 yr old rotten spawn says that makes me older than dirt, lol.

[schmoopie17]

Amazing how a thread titled "Service expectations on NCL" can quickly devolve into numerous pages about Door Dash and other home delivery services. Such is life on CC...with nary a hash browns comment.

Edited November 30, 2023 by schmoopie17

[Von & John]

@schmoopie17  We need fresh shred hasbrowns scattered, smothered & covered!
Or in my case - scattered & covered w/ sharp cheddar or aged havarti

[Daruma]

13 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Amazing how a thread titled "Service expectations on NCL" can quickly devolve into numerous pages about Door Dash and other home delivery services. Such is life on CC...with nary a hash browns comment.

 

I think the original post ran its course, so now we're administering CPR to keep it alive, lol 😅🤣😂

[yakcruiser]

14 minutes ago, Daruma said:

 

Depends on your age range definitions... I'm 56 😁

I was a bit off I was thinking upper 40's. I'm sure anything over 30 is old to your kid.

 

9 minutes ago, schmoopie17 said:

Amazing how a thread titled "Service expectations on NCL" can quickly devolve into numerous pages about Door Dash and other home delivery services. Such is life on CC...with nary a hash browns comment.

As a retired person who ate in many greasy spoon diners in my life, I miss real hash browns! Like the ones mentioned in the post above.

[lixogab]

Before they implemented the "once a day" cleaning policy, our cabin was cleaned by the time we returned from the breakfast (unlike most passengers we do use the red/green dial )

Last week it was a different story though. It looked that our steward was not only cleaning more cabins but also worked in the laundry (we met him there on the behind the scenes tour).  And his schedule was somewhat complicated. Some days he started early, other days didn't show up until noon or so.

 

[ontheweb]

29 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

I was a bit off I was thinking upper 40's. I'm sure anything over 30 is old to your k

I am part of the do not trust anyone over 30 generation, and I now have a son who is 45. 🤦‍♂️

[Daruma]

28 minutes ago, yakcruiser said:

I was a bit off I was thinking upper 40's. I'm sure anything over 30 is old to your kid.

 

When he was 3 and in Day Care, one day I was chatting with the 21 yr old assistant teacher while he was gathering his things.

 

She was telling me how glad she was that her friend finally broke up with her old, (as in age)... not oldER mind you... OLD... boyfriend... so I'm thinking 40s/50s.

 

I asked her how "OLD" he was and she said 26... I about killed her, lol.

[ontheweb]

3 minutes ago, lixogab said:

Before they implemented the "once a day" cleaning policy, our cabin was cleaned by the time we returned from the breakfast (unlike most passengers we do use the red/green dial )

Last week it was a different story though. It looked that our steward was not only cleaning more cabins but also worked in the laundry (we met him there on the behind the scenes tour).  And his schedule was somewhat complicated. Some days he started early, other days didn't show up until noon or so.

 

Meanwhile while we were on the Prima this past August and they had a Q & A session with the officers. I asked the officer in charge of the stewards about their workload and he made it sound like there was no change from before Covid.

[insidecabin]

22 minutes ago, ontheweb said:

Meanwhile while we were on the Prima this past August and they had a Q & A session with the officers. I asked the officer in charge of the stewards about their workload and he made it sound like there was no change from before Covid.

That's kind of what we were told on Viva TA.

 

Total is similar but no longer split shifts.

 

We have adapted our requests to work round any variable timings of schedule (steward or ours) main one is a stack of towels.

 

On our trip the trolley never moved from a set location, would be no big  problem to vary the order of cabins to adapt to passengers occupancy, the cleaning caddy and vacuum are quite portable.

 

 

[insidecabin]

1 hour ago, schmoopie17 said:

Amazing how a thread titled "Service expectations on NCL" can quickly devolve into numerous pages about Door Dash and other home delivery services. Such is life on CC...with nary a hash browns comment.

 

What we need is the equivalent of collect your own takeaway room service  that eliminates the delivery charge + 20%

 

On the Viva TA removing food from all the food venue  was actively discouraged or refused(eg dessert to room for later).

 

Short hours left big gaps in the food availability.

[skittl1321]

On my solo cruise I told my room attendant to just skip cleaning my room.  But I did need dishes collected.  If I can't eat in my room, cruise over. But I don't usually get room service because I hate all the extra charges.

 

I've also only used Uber eats twice, both paid for by my company and nearly had a heart attack at the cost with service fees, delivery fees, convenience fees, and of course then a massive tip or it won't get delivered at all.

 

Am I in the old or young group?  I'm 41 so getting old...but for "cruise" age, I'm still young except on summer and spring break cruises ...

[BenDover]

I was on Escape last month, and like the OP I had the Premium Plus package primarily for wine. I had Silverado Cabernet, Veuve Clicquot (only available at Le Bistro) and a wonderful Brunello. I had Aqua Pana with every meal (in addition to the wine of course) In addition, I finished every evening with a Hennessy XO. All included in the package. 

[yakcruiser]

46 minutes ago, skittl1321 said:

 

 

Am I in the old or young group?  I'm 41 so getting old...but for "cruise" age, I'm still young except on summer and spring break cruises ...

Definitely a youngster.

[MartaMartian]

Anyone still following this thread to complain about wine?

 
I’m not a wine snob, by any means. However, I found the wines, even the ones included with FAS+, are pretty average. 
 

But did you know? According to the fine print, if you have the beverage package, there is NO LIMIT to the amount of wine you can bring on board, without corkage? It may be worth your while to pick up a few bottles of your liking and take it with you to dinner, the pool, etc.

[DCGuy64]

16 hours ago, SoloAlaska said:

Haha ok so one should order from a grocery store to hotel room at 10 pm after a long day of work and do what… make ramen noodles because it’s cheap?

No, if you re-read my earlier reply to you, I was very clear about saying that using food delivery services on a regular basis (not as a treat from time to time) to one's own home is, in my view, foolish. I wasn't talking about being away from home and staying at a hotel. It's not practical, or even possible, to prepare fresh meals in a hotel room (at least, not the kind I stay in - I never, ever, ever travel for work, though some people do, so I don't stay in the mini-apartment kind). When we were in Spain last year we stayed in an AirBnB, and there we did buy groceries and prepare our own meals.

[DCGuy64]

13 hours ago, yakcruiser said:

Definitely a youngster.

I'm almost 60 and, compared to some cruisers, I'm also a youngster, LOL!

[spookylu]

I'm 39 and not exactly looking forward to turning 40 next summer, but I guess the solution is to go on more cruises so I feel young for longer 🤣🫠

[TQuila]

On 11/30/2023 at 8:18 AM, pete_coach said:

When you tip extra for a drink (as 20% is already added), it does not go to the bartender (unless you leave cash). There is no name on the bill, it just goes into the gratuity pool that all gratuities go into.

I think that the bartender notices but, it does not go to him/her, it goes to the giant tip pot.

I stop at the bank ahead of a cruise and get a pack of 100 $1 bills. It certainly goes to the bartenders/servers, not NCL, even if they pool it.

Edited December 1, 2023 by TQuila

[pete_coach]

46 minutes ago, TQuila said:

I stop at the bank ahead of a cruise and get a pack of 100 $1 bills. It certainly goes to the bartenders/servers, not NCL, even if they pool it.

Please re-read. I said "When you tip extra for a drink (as 20% is already added), it does not go to the bartender (unless you leave cash)."

Do what you want.

[sanger727]

On 11/30/2023 at 6:22 AM, spookylu said:

I'm with you. I prepay my gratuities and that is all I'm paying unless I want to recognize an individual who was truly exceptional. 

 

I tip 20% as a rule and I have noticed a lot of '"tip creep" the past few years. You're now expected to tip more places, and where 20% used to be considered generous, now it seems to be the bare minimum you can do without seeming like a cheapskate. There is pressure to tip more and more and I don't love it. I always tip (even for not so great service) and would never dream of reducing my prepaid gratuities unless service was simply awful uniformly across the cruise,  but I am not carrying around a stack of bills to hand out on top of that. 

 

Something to consider: the more people "double tip" by prepaying gratuities and then also cash tipping, the more it becomes "the norm" and expected of the rest of us.

 

I agree. I'm a little turned off by the restaurants that add the line with how much to tip on them. First, prices at the restaurant are up which leads to bigger tips to begin with. And now it seems like the amounts they are give are for 20%, 22%, and 25%. Um, no.

[sanger727]

On 11/30/2023 at 12:05 PM, RocketMan275 said:

 

Had a similar experience when I commanded a national guard company.  The NG instituted a mandatory bank deposit for guard pay.  Some members didn't want their wives to see how much they were paid.   Some just kept back some cash when they cashed their check.  Some convinced their wives that NG was voluntary and they kept it all.  Even had a few who convicned their wives that being in the guard was like joining a club, you had to pay dues.

 

My job has an extremely annoying clause in our contract. Everything we get paid is by direct deposit. Except, there are two types of extra pay (a bonus for seniority and a bonus for working nights). that is still paid by check. The contract is written that way because alot of the wives have no idea those two bonus pays exist. So they cash the check and pocked the money. I work multiple outside jobs and everything I get paid anymore is direct deposit. But I still have to pick up and deposit these two checks.