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CRUISERTN

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About Me

  • Location
    Tennessee
  • Interests
    World travel, cruising, photography, snorkeling
  • Favorite Cruise Line(s)
    Azamara, Oceania, Celebrity
  • Favorite Cruise Destination Or Port of Call
    Venice, Hong Kong and anywhere in Asia, Galapagos, Middle East, South Pacific

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  1. At least the environmental officer reports to the captain and works closer with the ships operation than a gift shop manager or art auctioneer who work for other companies who are contractors. Yes, haven’t had dinner with the captain and senior officers at a true captains table in years. But the spa manager is a new low. I really like the idea of dining with a cabin steward or laundry worker - the ones who are employee of the month etc should be the ones - and they would probably really enjoy it as well. And as one posted, you used to at least get one of the best servers at those tables. Not any more.
  2. Another crazy change that we experienced recently on the Jewel. In the past, top tier loyalty members were invited to dine with a ships officer. We’ve done this quite a bit over the years and it was always a special evening, a special room in the MDR depending on the ship or a special table there and special menu. A photographer would take a group photo and send a complimentary copy to your cabin the next day. Always a special meal and great experience. Recently on the Jewel, the “ship’s officers” tables were at regular tables in the MDR, same bad MDR menu, and the “officer” hosting the tables were the art auctioneer at one table, the gift shop manager at another, and the “officer” at our table was the spa manager. Just a regular night at a regular table with a regular menu and someone hosting the table that is NOT a ships officer and merely a contract employee - what an insult to our intelligence. Is that the way NCL now feels about their most loyal passengers? We were shocked and could not believe how low they went on that one. Don’t have “dinner with an officer” at all if that is the best they can do. Same as offering a 10% discount on a future cruise as a consolation for something they cancelled while they continue to raise rates and lower quality. Another slap in the face. Also since they raised the prices in specialty restaurants and lowered quality, they also added additional fees on top of the regular cover charge to some items that used to be included pre pandemic (ie filet mignon in LeBistro). A total decline everywhere.
  3. I have to agree with the original post that NCL has really done a nose dive since FDR left. Or maybe it is post pandemic as well. And I agree that all of the mass market lines have gone down a bit post pandemic. We’ve been on NCL, HAL, Princess, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity post pandemic and have seen declines on all, but NCL by far has declined the most. And rates have gone up. We have been cruising with NCL since 1975 and also many other lines. NCL went downhill in early 2000’s and we stopped for a while. When FDR took over, we tried again, and it was good again. Now it is horrible and we won’t be booking again. Even after FDR took over, the weak link was always the MDR so we always ate dinner in specialty and the package prices were reasonable. We recently were on the Jewel in Asia - first NCL post pandemic. It was horrendous. Quality of food and service in specialty has gone down significantly and prices for the specialty packages have more than doubled. You used to be able to get jumbo shrimp and filet mignon in Teppanyaki and now it is small shrimp and a fatty, poor NY strip; the “filet mignon” in Cagneys is just a mediocre quality tenderloin - cabin steward was one of the worst we’ve ever had. I can go on and on. Guest relations onboard are trained to basically tell you there isn’t anything they can do and customer service shoreside is the same. And, yes, Katty Byrd has others now responding to her emails. I speak from personal experience. Some rates on NCL are now comparable to Oceania for similar itinerary and same number of days. I think the people who are really seeing the big decline are the ones that go way back with NCL and have seen how a once good line ( and like me remember days of the NORWAY and when the very first specialty restaurant on any cruise line was opened - LeBistro- for a $5 cover charge) has gone down to the point that I think is beyond repair. So very sad. ☹️ We will now spend our money elsewhere.
  4. I used Dubaiprivatetour dot com - that’s the website - used them 7 years ago when we spent a few days in Dubai before a cruise. Did a full day Dubai tour one day and a day tour to Abu Dhabi another day and a few small tours around Dubai. Also arranged for them to take us from our hotel to the ship on the day of embarkation. Enjoyed all of the tours and their services.
  5. Just returned from Singapore to Bali on the Millenniim. Can highly recommend The Clan hotel which is across the street from Telok Ayer Metro station so very convenient to get around - one stop from Chinatown if you don’t want to walk there. Hotel is just a few years old. Great staff and service. Rooms on the smaller side but would still recommend. They offer a discount if you book directly through their website rather than through a third party.
  6. Would recommend the New Grand Hotel in Yokohama. Great hotel with lots of history and has a new wing as well as the old hotel. Right across the street from Osanbashi pier and Chinatown is right behind it. Also one of the airport buses that goes to Yokohama makes a stop at the New Grand but only runs certain hours.
  7. Would highly recommend snorkeling to Menjangan island from Celukan Bawang port. We just returned a few days ago from a similar itinerary on Millennium - used West Bali Explorer tour company - due to ships hours in port we didn’t try to snorkel in Langkawi and did other things in Penang. Also went to Gili islands for snorkeling from Lombok. Was very disappointed in the poor visibility at all 3 of the Gilis but found Menjangan to be a wonderful experience. It is almost 2 hour drive each way to get to the boat and 30 min boat ride each way to Menjangan. It was a long and tiring day but well worth it for the great snorkeling.
  8. We were on the Jewel 2 months ago and the cruise line did offer a “Saigon on your own” which is just the bus ride from the ship and back. The drop off point was at the Rex hotel.
  9. We just returned from the Millenniim that disembarked at Benoa port. It all depends on what time the ship gets clearance, and a few days ago we were cleared for the first groups to disembark around 7:30am. It was very organized as far as immigration and claiming bags, but very chaotic outside the terminal. If you don’t have a ships tour or ships transfers, you have to walk with your luggage outside the bus parking area to find private pick up and taxis. I would arrange private pick up if not doing the ships transfers. I believe it is around 5 miles from Benoa port to the DPS airport but can take 30-45 min if a lot of traffic. Hope this helps.
  10. If you are in Nha Trang I would highly recommend Hai- great guide and very good English. He is also a rescue diver and also took us on a fabulous snorkeling tour to the marine park there. You can message him on WhatsApp
  11. CRUISERTN

    Experiments

    Yes we still plan on attending the Meet and Greet.
  12. CRUISERTN

    Experiments

    We are still here - just haven’t posted in a long time. Have been staying busy with a few land tours and just getting around to checking in again. Looking forward to this cruise and meeting everyone. Leslie and Charlie
  13. The New Grand Hotel in Yokohama is a good one. Right across from Yamashita Park and you could walk to the port if you didn’t have luggage. A half mile short taxi ride. Chinatown is nearby as well as train stations to go all over the area. There is also a bus from Narita airport that makes several stops in Yokohama and the New Grand hotel is one of the stops. You can get the info at the airport and the people selling the bus tickets are very helpful and speak English and will show you which bus to take to get there. The bus only runs a few times a day so you would have to make sure your flight arrived in time to get the bus. If you stay in Tokyo, allow yourself at least an hour or more depending on time of day and traffic to get to Yokohama port by car. Trains are easy to get there also but would be hard to navigate with luggage. Then you would have to take a short taxi ride from the Yokohama area a train station to the port. If you are planning to do a few day trips from Tokyo, most tours only pick up from Tokyo hotels and not Yokohama hotels.
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