Team Bean

11 hours ago, macewank said:

No wristbands on my pre-Christmas cruise on the Encore.

They did give us a keycard to access Vibe though... Which was sort of odd, because the room key works too.  I'm quite sure people were giving the extra key to their friends to sneak them in.

I would be so pissed if I paid $250 a person to access Vibe and other guests were sneaking in friends.  Sorry, I'm a nice guy and I play well with others.  But what's fair is fair. 

1 hour ago, laudergayle said:

So, yeah…valid points.  And all things considered, they may have taken a big picture look and determined that the profit gains outweighed the potential future revenue from Q1 cruisers.  I, unfortunately, have two cruises in Feb and April…so I feel the impact.  Yeah yeah, I’m crying over spilled milk. But at least I have the option to decide if we take our Nov cruise.  
 

As an aside…I’m not an expert in corporate law, so I wonder if collusion rules apply to non-US based corporations.  Insights welcome.

I don't blane you for concern.  I am unsure how my March Prima trip will rate vs previous NCL cruises.  Plan on having a great experience.  But who knows?   As for the collusion, I sell burgers and beer for a living.  So I have no clue.  But my gut tells me it will be hard to prove.  

33 minutes ago, laudergayle said:

 

I believe the grumbles of not having certain items on certain days on certain cruises is understood to be tied to what we hope will be short-term supply/labor issues.  And it’s just CC folks wanting to share…not always in the best way.
 

OTOH, the current frustration with NCL (and presumably on the other cruise lines) is the amount of cuts and increases—which are likely to be more long-term than an unstable supply/labor issue.  I stated in a different thread that I suspect every department was challenged to increase profit in 2023–either by cutting costs or increase revenue.  Which is what a viable business should be doing.  However, this cost cutting/revenue generation came all at once, so the cumulative effect is more impactful, especially for cruisers in Jan-April who bought into one value proposition and after final payment are getting a significantly different one.  NCL executives should have taken a a big picture look at the guest experience impact before allowing all these changes to happen in January. Instead they chose to look at the bottom line.  Both of you are n the hospitality industry so you know the importance of balancing labor/supply/costs and your customer experience. I doubt either of you would make all the changes you want/need to make all at once. I spent my career in brand management and I would never accept this many cuts/increases at one time because I value the customer perspective and experience. There should have been a prioritization of what delivers the greatest profit and changes rolled out from that.  

Great comments.  But I will tell you I've had to make a lot of hard decisions that I've learned right now to just "rip the band-aid off".  I've stopped worrying and attempting to see how much we can do and accomplish; now, my focus is to see how much we can do well.   NCL could've adjusted their thought process and slowed up on some of these changes; unfortunately, the changes are still coming.  This could be a poor strategy, but financially, it benefits the company while they are seeing record bookings.  These cruisers are still sailing, so the current revenue is the short term answer. And like many other things in life, many customers will adapt and accept the product as is.   I think NCL is banking on many lines having to adopt a similar strategy.  

I love posts like this.  You run the full gauntlet here:. Passengers convinced NCL is really screwing them by removing higher end options, other passengers going the other way and making assumptions about why, who, where menu items are removed or altered.   Here's the fact: NCL is a for profit business.  If a cost is higher, of course it runs the risk if being removed.  If something is labor intensive (like beef Wellington), it runs the risk if being removed.   Prima menu is unique at NCL since it doesn't change daily.   Regardless of what anyone may want different, this has been the plan for Prima since it first touched the water. I never expected the menu to remain unchanged.  It is an ongoing evolution.  So stating that NCL is nickel and diming us,, or going the other way and listing all the reasons NCL has to cut items is an exercise in futility.  NCL is trying to improve it's stock price so that it can continue to improve it's financial position and yes, even survive during difficult financial times.   If it can cut costs and still offer good value (and like most Cruise lines, it still does with or without Beef Wellington!), It will gladly continue taking deposits for sailings.  Which, by the way, are at a record pace.  

29 minutes ago, PATRLR said:

The frequency certainly seems to have increased.  NCL has even acknowledged it with their saving the environment BS.  

 

So many comments here and they are all related to the same thing; lack of employees.  Less workers mean less supply trucks, farmers, Brewers and distillers, less bartenders, less cooks.  And when companies raise prices or cutback services, it still comes back to less employees and workers.   Running out of as certain beer or soda or food on a ship isn't unrelated; order online from a grocery store and see how many out of stock notices and substitute items you receive.   Ports have less workers, less dock attendants, less pilot boat crews.  Simply put, Cruise lines are reacting to the same issues we face here in the US.   Less workers results in higher turnover, quality concerns, less product availability, less customer satisfaction.   There is no quick and easy solution.  

5 hours ago, firstimecruiseronncl said:

Oh -- I was hoping he would still be in the Vibe in April.

Vibe guys leaving mid March for well deserved time at home. 

3 hours ago, LadyBerard said:

I thought I would ask here before calling, just in case anybody else has done already done  this.  Enrolled on ID.me already.

New bookings since November 1

I purchased for Encore.  Anyone use it so far?  

First time cruising on NCL this summer (Royal Caribbean and Carnival past cruisers), and first time cruising out of NYC. Should we taxi it out of LaGuardia on Saturday June 7th, or take the NCL shuttle? Looking for some feedback, price is important but efficiency and timely delivery to the port is the real key here! Thanks everyone!