seemoreroyals

We have never been hard sold while at CN desk. With the exception of the year they first came out. Then it was a little fuzzy trying to separate the steak from the sizzle. We did not buy them the first time because of the high pressure tactics. Nowadays we stop by CN desk some time middle of cruise and buy for upcoming cruise. Have not experienced any shenanigans from them lately that I can recall.

Have you had a chance to listen the band Familiar Strangers? I have heard they are pretty good . I noticed they are listed as the party band in the freestyle daily day 9 you just posted.

Have they started putting Christmas decorations up yet?

If you look closely at the couch type furniture in the OL it is covered with slobber and no telling what else type of stains. We still enjoy the O Land its views but the way it is abused by a small minority is nothing short of gross. Our upcoming Prima cruise will be the 4th different NCL ship we will have been on with an OL. Using the OL as a place to sleep is a fleetwide issue. Nice to know the OL chair slobberers will be there in full force waiting to keep us from the best spots.

Agree with others. They need to change the type of furniture in the observation lounges to discourage use by homeless people.

How much and for how many people? We are still wanting to know what to expect to pay for four of us to get to and from hotel to port. We are staying/parking at hotel about 3 miles away.

Like others we always tip daily. We tip daily by paying the DSC, the 20% drink package tip, and the specialty dinners gratuities at the end of the cruise. On a 7 day cruise this amounts to over $700 for the two of us. Normal tipping is provided for by this process and we do not see the need to tip more unless the waiter, steward or other NCL crew member really comes through and does something over and above our expectations. Our upcoming cruise in about 2 weeks will be the first time since they have changed the policy from two room services per day down to one. Our plan is to meet our steward and get a general idea of what time of day he/she will be servicing our cabin. Afterwards we will just roll with the flow.

Enjoying your trip report on Prima. We will be getting on in about three weeks. Looking at these pictures makes me feel fortunate to have paid extra to get the vibe passes.

On line check in still not working on google chrome. Tried clearing browser history still no good. Went to NCL app on cell phone and check in worked just fine.

As you clearly pointed out over $700 is already earmarked for tips. gratuities, whatever you want to call them for a couple on a 7 day cruise assuming they have the drink package and the specialty dinner package. As long as a significant amount of people continue to tip quite a bit more the bean counters will continue to raise the tips for all of us. You can take that to the bank. When DSC first started, what was it $12 per day per person? Might have been less than that. Now in less than 20 years it is at $20 per day per person. I would not be at all surprised it that figure is raised to $25 or $30 per day per person. If that were to happen would you continue to pay your cabin steward $10 to $15 extra per day? Right now two people on a 7 day cruise are prepaying just over $100 per day for tips, gratuities, whatever. In a perfect and honest world NCL would step in and reassure cruisers that it is not necessary to tip extra. Unfortunately they don't. And the DSC's continue to rise and the tensions and awkwardness associated with tipping continue to persist and NCL continues to extract extra monies from people.

Tipping is not required because it is covered by DSC. Go back and study from the beginning when envelopes with tip money for waiters, cabin stewards, etc were replaced by DSC. Brilliant move by NCL and other cruise lines as now they get to collect the tips up front, gradually raise them as time goes by, and along the way have many people that continue to not realize this and double tip. I have no problem with an occasional something extra if service by room steward , wait staff, or other NCL employee goes above and beyond. But when I pay our $280 per week for DSC and extra for tips on drink package and extra tips for specialty diners for my wife and I that covers what is expected from us for tips, gratuities, whatever you want to call them. If NCL chooses not to give that money to the room stewards, wait staff, etc then that is an issue for possible legal action between NCL and them. You do it your way and we will do it our way. In the end we can agree to disagree.

Lack of hash browns may be why NCL stock down by over 5% today. Angry cruisers selling their shares and looking elsewhere for their hash browns.

We bought shortly thereafter at $28 per share. Less than half price we thought at the time. Ending up catching a falling knife as they say in the stock market. Fortunately we bought a couple more times much lower. Ended up averaging out where we could sell all of our holdings and make a small profit. Have not bought any since but am considering. Now seems like a great time to buy some more NCLH stock. But don't listen to me. I am almost always wrong when it comes to picking stocks.

What time of day to they usually have the Platinum BTS tour? I am assuming it is on a sea day and also wondering if it is offered more than once on a 7 day cruise. And how long does it last?

Perhaps I missed your response elsewhere. What was your overall impression of the vibe? I guess it was positive since you decided to purchase it for the second leg of your cruise as well. You are one of the most thorough and objective reviewers. Looking forward to your opinion of the vibe.

We found quite a few that offered free cruise parking but not with free shuttle. Most suggest taxi, uber, lyft, or another form of transport to get to and from port. For our upcoming cruise in December we ended up going with Gaido's Seaside Inn. They have free cruise parking and full breakfast but no free shuttle to port. Gaido's appears to be a bit dated but it had great reviews, is walking distance to several restaurants and less than 3 miles to cruise port. Still have not found out cost of uber or taxi each way. If anyone knows please advise.

We paid extra for the vibe for the first time for our cruise out of Galveston in December. I did a lot of research and overwhelmingly most people that paid for the vibe loved it and many would never sail again without it. I have noticed you have panned the vibe on numerous occasions and am curious why. Have you ever paid for and used the vibe on a warm weather itinerary such as the Caribbean?

What hours is the vibe open?

What should we expect to pay for taxi or uber / lyft to and from hotel to port? There are 4 of us. We are staying at a hotel about 3 miles away. There is only one ship in port that day.

Following as we are staying at a hotel on Seawall Blvd. in Dec the night before our cruise. They have free cruise parking but we have to arrange our own transportation to and from port. Ours is only about 3 miles away so I am thinking either a cab or lyft/uber to and from port should not be much. Hope we hear from a few people who have experienced getting to and from port to their hotel recently.

We have seen the Syd Norman shows on other ships and they are very entertaining. Maybe they should show their shows on the entertainment replay channel they have in the cabins. Not everyone is up to waiting in line. The shows there are very good. That way more people could get a glimpse of the shows at Syd Normans. Looking forward to seeing the Prima version of the Syd Norman shows in December. Not looking forward to waiting in line but it is what it is. Same issue with Cavern Club shows we have been to.

We will always fondly remember our first NCL cruise on the Starward in June of 1995. It was a small ship by today's standards. Maybe 500 passengers if I recall correctly. We had an inside cabin. Don't remember if they even had balcony cabins on ships back then. Instead of light and bright colors that today's ships have, the Starward was made of darker woods. We had no drink package, no specialty dinners, no broadway shows, no freestyle dining. But we had the best room steward we have ever had on a cruise. Any time we left the room we would return and our room was cleaned. We always had fresh Ice in the ice bucket. These were the days when you left envelopes with tips now replaced with DSC charges paid in advance. We happily paid him more than what was suggested. Our cruise was to the South Caribbean. NCL had a really neat free excursion program back then called Sports Afloat. At each island we visited they had an organized walk led by an NCL employee which was informative and offered us a chance to get off the ship, get in a nice morning walk, and enjoy each port free of charge. We have since been on the Dawn, the Jewel, the Gem. the Epic, the Breakaway, the Joy and the Bliss. All of these cruises were amazing. We really don't have a favorite as we have enjoyed all of the NCL cruises we have been on. But our first cruise on the Starward will always have a special place for us.

Following as we will be sailing on Prima in Dec and have Vibe passes. We have sailed out of Galveston 3 times in the past. The winter in Galveston can vary from tropical to cold and blustery. One time in particular it was about 35-40 degrees when we set sail. It was still a little chilly the first sea day but by the time we exited the Gulf of Mexico and entered the Caribbean in was really nice the rest of our cruise. I am not sure of the exact number of passes sold. Seems like the number is around 100. They purposely sell a limited amount to keep it from becoming crowded in there. There are a number of YouTube videos that do a great job of showcasing the Vibe on Prima. From what I have researched here, and other places, and watching quite a few YouTube videos the overwhelming majority of people that purchase Vibe passes are pleased that they did so. Particularly on a warm weather cruise. Sea days from what I have read is when the Vibe is the most crowded. Seems to me that $500 for my wife and I is a money well spent to have a quiet, smoke free sanctuary with our own private bar and infinity hot tubs. I have even read a couple of reviews that thought it was too quiet in there. We both like to read so the quiet would not bother us at all.

I am not sure how it is nowadays but many moons ago I paid my way through college waiting tables. I got a whopping $2 an hour plus tips. Almost all of my earnings came from tips. I had to pay if I recall correctly 3-4 % of my shift total purchases into a tip pool which went to the busboys and dishwashers etc. I still cleared about $50 a 3 hour lunch shift or around $100 for a 5 hour dinner shift. I had to take a pay cut for a while when I graduated from college. Back then minimum wage was $3.35 per hour. I easily averaged over $2000 per month back in the late 70's waiting tables. On a 7 day cruise between my wife and I we pay about $700 in gratuities when you add up what we pay for DSC tips, drink package 20% tips, and specialty diner 20% tips. I think the bartenders and waiters, and room steward do pretty good for themselves. Perhaps a little better than you might think. I was surprised when you acknowledged the DSC as gratuities aka tips. In the past you seemed to see them as something entirely different and felt the need to pay addition tips to your bartenders, waiters, and room stewards. As you know DSC, tips, gratuities, whatever you want to call them used to be handled differently. At the end of your cruise you would meet up with your cabin steward, waiter, head waiter, and sometimes the maitre d and present them with an envelope with tip money in it. Back in the day there were no drink packages so you would tip the bartenders as you go. Due to the complexity of freestyle dining and drink packages I cannot recall what year it was but NCL and other cruise lines replaced leaving envelopes with predetermined DSC or whatever the particular cruise line wants to call it. It was designed to simplify things. In some ways it has turned into a money grab for the cruise lines as they continue to raise the DSC.

Wow. I can't believe you are finally admitting it.