Scotto97

After reading the 12 expectations of the OP, I agree with all but #2.

The rest are all simple expectations anyone should have doing business within the hospitality industry.

It certainly seems that passenger expectations have collapsed down to the bare minimum in the past few years. $5,000 - $10,000+ is a lot to pay for a 7 day cruise, shouldn't we all expect to be treated better? I'm not asking for a pillow menu, butler escort to my cabin, lobster on my balcony every night and neither was the OP within her list. These are just standards one would expect while staying at a Hilton, Marriott, or similar middle-of-the-road hotel. Some of us are so happy to just be on a cruise that we'll accept the unacceptable.   

6 hours ago, chengkp75 said:

None of this information, on any passenger, is sent to CBP, or USCIS, prior to the ship actually sailing.

Thanks chengkp75 - I've always found you to be an outstanding source of information on these boards thru the years. 

My wife is a Permanent U.S. Resident with a Mexican passport. On all other cruise lines we have enjoyed, her "Green Card" information is gathered during online check in. But when we recently checked in for our first NCL cruise, only her Mexican Passport information was requested.

By not sending her U.S. immigration status and information ahead of time to the Immigration Service, won't this result in delays at the terminal during embarkation?

Can anyone share how this is handled at NCL?  

My original point was why would NCL make the decision to exclude a cheap bottle of water of all things within a drink package? You can buy 40 of them at Costco for $4.99 (About 12 cents apiece) And that's for the expense Arrowhead spring water. BTW - I've tasted water in a paper carton and you CAN taste the paper container. Milk, juice, and other liquids have more flavor which hides it. Anyone who's flown on Alaskan Airlines or Spirit knows the water sucks.

NCL cheerleaders seem to be the most fervent I've seen on CC from their reactions to negative comments. I hope this loyalty proves to be well-deserved on my first NCL cruise coming up shortly. But so far, I've just heard about the ships being extremely overcrowded, waiting in long lines for all venues, and paying extra for most everything compared to other cruise lines.  

9 hours ago, mistertomatoe said:

It is absolutely a money grab like all decisions by NCL but a very strange one. Why exclude your boxed (generic) water from your already expensive open bar package? Inquiring minds want to know.

Guess I'll order alcohol free beer instead of water then. Stupid that I can get a free bottle of beer but must pay for a bottle of water. Considering the "Free" drink  package cost $300 in tips vs less than $100 in tips on other cruise lines, I still think it ridiculous. But readers of these boards know each line's cheerleader's will come to it's quick defense.

What's the deal with NCL and bottled water? It seems it is not included in their "3 for Free" drink package whereas every other cruise line includes it. Also, the water you can purchase ahead of time is in paper cartons which tastes like cardboard. Is this just a blatant money grab?

If you could take the wine bottle you receive in the dining room back to your cabin, Premium Plus would be worth the $60+ extra per day (Per couple) But I've heard they do not allow that.

30 minutes ago, allyfrizzle said:

When we get on the ship, we ask our room steward to empty our mini fridge and leave a few bucks as a courtesy.

 

My husband and I usually take advantage of being able to order two beers at a time w/NCL's drink package. We'll enjoy one and take the other (unopened) one to the room. Do this a few times and you've got a nice lil stash of beers for when you're feeling lazy and don't want to leave the room.

So even if you have the drink package, the fridge is pre-stocked with items of which everything will have a (High) price to consume?

After researching what will be our first NCL trip, what seems to be mentioned with regularity is long wait times to get drinks at the bars.

So even though we'll have the drink package, we may suck it up and try to purchase some expensive beers to keep in our cabin fridge to enjoy on the balcony or when getting ready for dinner.

I've looked on the app to pre-order, but only see wine available. Can a 6-pack of beer also be ordered somehow pre-cruise?

Or will bartenders allow you to receive unopened beers to stock up?

8 minutes ago, MoCruiseFan said:

Chair Hog - Someone who got up earlier than you did when chairs were still available and enjoyed the use of said chair while you tried to come up with any number of excuses why people who got to the pool before you should have left a chair for late risers and because they didn't you try to justify moving their personal belongings and taking their chair.

Pretty much sums up the issue...

Someone who is actually using the chair is not by definition a Chair Hog. 

I just booked a cruise yesterday that leaving on May 14th (47 days out), but when I try to log in and place an upgrade bid, I receive the error "Your reservation was not found". Does it take a few days for our cruise to be loaded into the bidding system?

I'm able to book dining reservations and shore excursions using the app however.  

I'm also leaving this Saturday and was able to use the Navigator App to complete the questionnaire 15 minutes ago. I noticed it automatically update the Verifly App as well.

Additional reports would be great as I will be on the NS on Saturday and this would make the difference in whether I buy the drink package

I'll be at Half Moon Cay on Sunday, so if anyone knows if it the drink package can still be ordered either on the ship or at HMC please let me know.  Thanks

Has anyone been lucky enough to embark when there was no "Wine Fee Table" in operation?

This has happened to us many times when boarding a Princess cruise, the table was either not operating yet, or the crew failed to set it up. So we didn't have to pay the corkage fee.

The Navigator App says you can order drinks through it. So what happens if you have one of the drinks packages / HIA?  Are they covered when ordering thru the app? Or is this ordering process only for room delivery and you would be charged as part of the room service exemption for drink packages?

I've done an extensive search on this board but could not find any details on the wine tastings offered while onboard. Can someone please offer some details on the various ones offered and their prices to attend? 

15 hours ago, grillinchillin said:

With the crew shortage, we did not order room service on this last cruise.

 

We did hear from others that it took much longer than expected and the accuracy was not up to par.

Seems like they just need to pay people more to alleviant being short-staffed. (Like here in the states) Poor service levels will really hurt them in the future as people consider which type of vacation they are willing to pay for. 

My wife and I just finished up a 5 day cruise on the Miracle and always loved Carnival's private branded "Thirsty Frog" Red Ale.

It was very smooth, slightly sweet and in the Irish Red Ale style.

But we tried it again after a 2 year hiatus  and it had changed significantly in taste. I would now describe it as a Sour-Style beer with a chalky Alkaline aftertaste.

Not good at all in our opinion. We tried it at 2 different bars just in case one of the kegs were old/ bad.

Has anyone else notice such a dramatic change to this beer's taste? 

1 hour ago, Lee Cruiser said:

I own a little Carnival stock, but I certainly wouldn't bet on that one.  Carnival took on a whole lot of debt over the last two years.  That, added to the fact that they also issued many more shares of stock would point to a much longer period before this stock gets anywhere close to pre-pandemic prices.

In normal times, the cruise industry is incredibly profitable (Very high profit margins) and by removing their older ships, will be even more so going forward. They will be able to pay down their debt within 3 - 5 years while also repurchasing their stock. Both actions will result in a quick rise of their stock prices.

Newer, larger ships are much more efficient from a fuel and overall cost per passenger perspective. The industry is in great shape going forward. Even if there's another Covid strain, the shutdowns won't happen again. In 2 years, cruise line stocks will have doubled or tripled. 

So if a woman can provide medical proof that she's pregnant, they still will force her to purchase Cheers if she's in a cabin with someone else? Won't they allow her to purchase Bottomless Bubbles instead?

Interesting if true, as the media could easily frame this as Carnival "Encouraging / almost forcing" a pregnant person to drink and possibly harm the unborn child.

2 minutes ago, MrMarc said:

From the people I have spoken with on cruises I have been on, the vast majority want mask rules in place.  The crew I spoke with also want people to wear masks. Many are intimidated by the anti-mask people, so nothing is said.  But that is just my experience and impression.  They are going to do whatever they are going to do and change it again if it doesn't work.

Of course, the people that don't want to wear masks aren't cruising right now. (So they are not available to ask their opinion onboard) Why do you think most ships are at 30% - 40% capacity? The other 70% - 60% don't want to cruise under the current protocols.

Cruise stocks are going up like crazy right now. But the cruise lines are still losing millions. Why? because things will be getting back to normal soon. (No masks or protocols) so more people will cruise again

19 minutes ago, BlerkOne said:

or how about the people who cancelled because of protocols and lost OBC and cheap prices?

 

It's never going to be 2019 again. You can't live in the past.

I certainly hope you are wrong - These last 2 years have been hell. I'm not talking about bringing back 80's Rock. Just normality..... when we weren't afraid of fellow citizens, and weren't forced to cover our faces (And expressions)   

7 minutes ago, bucfan2 said:

Survival has everything to do w/ it...and carnival will follow.  I know there will be some disappointed people, but it's coming, and soon.  Looking forward to the worn out adage of 'agree to the protocols or don't sail'.  

It will be interesting how cruise lines handle cancellation requests from passengers that don't want things to go back to what was a normal cruise experience 2 years ago. (No masks, testing, mandatory vaccinations) I would assume they may decline those requests under the logic that they are removing restrictions and not imposing them.