cadien

I just reread NCL's Liquor policy and see where it says you pay the corkage fee even in the stateroom. When do they charge you this fee? as you board the ship?

Yes.

My son had a great time in the 3-5 group. He was almost 4 though. He never mentioned movies but he brought back many crafts, talked about books read to them, and tried to demonstrate various songs and dances they'd done.

There was a Wii available during the day but it was in a bar (while not serving), not in the Splash Academy.

Don't a couple Norwegian suites have actual hot tubs vs the unheated bath on the balcony? Gem and Pearl?

I can't believe they never limited kids in the past. Some of those rooms are tiny.

Flavor Flav and an NFL hall of famer were in the garden villa on our NCL cruise. DH recognized the player but I didn't even recognize his name.

Update: It was Larry Allen of the Cowboys.

I replied to that thread but on page 5, so I'll recap. We were on a K-12 spring break cruise this year with just over 1,000 kids, including our own. The Splash Academy did have to turn kids away daily, particularly in the 6-9 year old group. And the lines did start 30 minutes before opening, three times a day.

We were in a suite on the Star this April. There are photos of snacks in this review: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2225585

Also the DVD menu, which is something else the butler can bring.

Even if you're not eating in, getting the menus is helpful for choosing your dining room each evening.

Flavor Flav and an NFL hall of famer were in the garden villa on our NCL cruise. DH recognized the player but I didn't even recognize his name.

Could anyone tell me about how far/long of a walk it is from the ship to the Hilton Puerto Vallarta? Would it be difficult for a couple with 2 small children (6 and 3)?

We walked with one 3-year old and one adult with a sprained toe. Took about 15 minutes and we didn't cross any streets.

Was this game played a couple of times on Ellen?

Yes.

No and yes.

If it's called a 'Haven', and it's not a haven from children, what's it supposed to be a haven from?

Just the Great Unwashed who can't afford it?

Based on the magazine ads I've seen, exactly that.

And really, NCL is the most family-centric line out there beside Disney. Not least because people with kids often don't have enough leftover for a more expensive line. You're not going to avoid them in any cabin class.

Star has just underwent a refurb. Supposed to be a big improvement. I've sailed on the Gem and the Dawn, both sisters to the Jewel and the Star. Liked the Gem better than the Dawn, but we are sailing on the Star in January, and I've heard she is beautiful since the refresh.

The first part of this recent review includes a lot of photos of the post-refurb Star.

What is NCL's hang up with the 80s? It seems like they're going 80s crazy with the entertainment options on the newer ships (Rock of Ages). I can't wait until they start doing shows for the 90s. :D

Apparently they're marketing to those of us in our... late 30s. That's it.

Actually the Star.

For me a ship works the same way as an hotel. I have never seen dirty plates on the floor of hotels corridors.

That would explain a lot then. In the U.S., even the 4-star hotels have room service trays out in the hall. So it didn't seem at all odd when we saw plates on our ship.

Pretty shocked that there is now a room service fee ... how much is it? It was noted that there is a charge, except for continental breakfast ... we normally only order in breakfast: some fruit, cereal, and toast or English muffin. Would they consider that a continental breakfast?

The room service fee is $7.95.

Unfortunately, none of those items are on the continental breakfast. The only things are muffins/pastries (no toast or English muffin), coffee, and juice.

How did the mother/grandmother think the excursions were going to be paid for if not from her credit card on file (that you give your signature for when you are doing all of you paperwork to check in)? I can maybe see charging like $320 - $350, before thinking there might be something wrong with notifications. But to charge $1,500 before you think "Hey, this seems like a lot of crap I'm getting for my $300" and check with the front desk is completely stupid.

I think the overall review is ridiculous and possibly fake, but I can see this part happening.

If they had my credit card on file and I ordered excursions on the first day or even sooner, I'd expect those charges to go directly onto the credit card, as a completely separate additional transaction, not be deducted from the on-board credit. Especially if you knew you'd only put on $300 worth of credit and it was supposed to lock you out after that.

Can you take time off and forfeit the pay for it?

 

In the UK it's normal to get 5 weeks of paid holiday a year plus the 10 national holidays. Usually you would have 2 weeks in summer, 1 at christmas and a couple of floating weeks in between.

 

I don't think I could physically work 50 weeks a year, but would be happy to forfeit a few weeks of pay to have time off.

9-10 national/state holidays is pretty normal here too. Although whether they are paid holidays varies considerably. Accountancy, probably paid. Retail and food service, nope.

Leave without pay is often difficult to get, especially at entry level. Many places require extraordinary circumstances. We (government employee) have to go up several layers of management for permission.

Office type jobs seem to start people at two weeks vacation per year and it increases from there very slowly.

In any kind of job, there's also a seniority issue. A particular time frame (especially holidays) may be denied if enough other people want the same dates. There can also be a limit to how many consecutive days off may be taken.

I won't be able to consider a cruise longer than 10 days until I'm retired.

Hooray!

As for healthy foods. I am cruising next week. I am in a suite and I plan on asking our butler for healthy snacks each afternoon - veggies and fruit and cheese/crackers. I have already arranged for a scale for our suite, so I can make sure I keep an eye on my weight - what I am saying is if you want healthy food, you can find it - no matter where you are.

My suite came with a bathroom scale automatically. I thought that was mean.

Unfortunately, I was really looking forward to the Barong Juice Bar on our Star cruise and it was apparently done away with in the dry dock. They did have fresh citrus juice station in the buffet (not complementary) but that was it.

I don't know why it still shows up on the deck plan. Although there was nothing new in that space. Just a closed off area. They weren't able to complete everything at the dry dock so maybe they're remodeling it later and we just had lousy timing?

The Kids Cafe in the buffet is still on the plan and that wasn't operational either, despite 1,000+ kids on that particular cruise.

On the website of the company that make this game, it's described as being for horrible, despicable people. Sorry, not my kind of thing, and doesn't sound like the Celebrity passengers we've met on our 50+ cruises on that line.

The entire website is tongue in cheek.

It's not my thing but my husband and many friends are fans. People age 40+.

It's really just Apples to Apples but ... vulgar. Usually drinks are involved. A very wide range of people play it. Remarkably popular with attorneys.

Maybe not on HAL or Regent, but I'm sure there are experienced players on a Celebrity cruise.

Cadien, what NCL ship was this on? Are they all pretty similar in terms of having a smaller space? Songs and crafts are good for part of the time, but my kid needs to move during the day or we struggle at bedtime!

I was on one of the smaller ships, the Star. And it's the only cruise we've done. It's very possible that the larger ships have much more extensive kids clubs.