TFLG

We sailed on the Jan 29th cruise and of my 34 cruises it was the worst. We still had a good time but there was a serious lack of staff on that sailing. And a lot of the staff were obviously not happy about it. There was a noticeable drop in food quality too vs my previous 7 NCL cruises and it was mostly in the specialty venues.  The MDR on the 3 days we ate there was decent for NCL, O Sheehan's was pretty good too, but with some popular items gone.  But of the 4 specialties we went to only the Teppanyaki was outstanding (worth the money) which was surprising because it's not a favorite of mine.  The added cost was just not worth it for the other 3, La Bisto was a huge disappointment.  The bar staff was slammed and the quality of the cocktails was soooo bad except in the Prime Meridian bar.  Beer and wine was your best bet on that sailing especially at the outdoor bars.  As for me, I'm not booking NCL again anytime soon. I can get better food, better service and better drinks for the same $$$ on other lines.  Too bad, since 2108 I've sailed NCL 4 times and enjoyed them all except this one.  Hoping it's a one off but hearing from friends on other sailings having similar experiences.  Come on NCL get it together.

I'm trying to set up a pub crawl on the Reflection next month. Does anyone know the bar hours on sea days?

It's colder!  It will warm up the farther south you go but the first and last days can be chilly.  Not as many big resorts on the west coast mexico stops.  Cabo is nice, Puerto Vallarta has some nice areas. But Mazatlan is a bit of a dump.  If you are looking for warm turquoise waters you won't find it on the west coast of Mexico.  The water "might" hit the low 80's depending on the time of year.  The crowd is a bit different in that there are less Europeans.  We live in SoCal so we do the west coast cruises a lot (once or twice a year). I think April or Nov are the best times to go. Less Humidity and the temps are usually not too bad.

On 1/17/2022 at 1:20 PM, Carolina.girl said:

 

Hello all! Hubs and I are considering booking this cruise, but have never sailed Princess before, and have also never sailed from the west coast before. We have sailed Norwegian 4 times and Carnival once. All cruises were to the Caribbean, and we very much prefer Norwegian between the two lines.  After watching several you tube videos on Princess cruises, it seems they are pretty comparable to NCL. Any information, experiences, tips or opinions are much appreciated!

Going to find out myself in April.  We booked our first Princess cruise, a Mexican Riviera.  My parents like Princess and tell me it's very comparable to Celebrity.  We really like Celebrity so we have high hopes.  I expect better food than NCL or Carnival and I'm hoping the entertainment is as good as NCL. 

Just off the Bliss, and I have to agree the upcharging thing is irritating to say the least.  I think it was $20 extra for the surf and turf with the lobster tails looking to be a bout 4 ouncers.  That would bring the "actual full menu" cost to $70 for that entrée.  That's just stupid. In town our best restaurant charges $80 for a filet and an 8 ounce tail that makes the Cagneys dish look like it came from Red Lobster.  I can get a whole lobster meal in many Caribbean or Mexican ports for $20.  The food in the Specialties is usually good but it's far from 5 star quality so upcharging on top of the already high menu prices seems a money grab.   We ate at 5 specialties on our recent cruise and all were pretty solid except one really poor entrée at Blue. The Cioppino I was served in Blue was basically a bowl of boiled seafood sitting in fish flavored cool-aid. Yea, it went right back lol.  The Seabass was much better.  And yea, I would rather they add $20 to the cost of the cruise fair and take all those stupid upcharges off.

We just got off the Miracle this morning.  Be sure to do the sea day brunch in the MDR,  the steak and eggs was pretty good. The Serenity lounge on the back of deck 9 is a great place to hang out and with the limited capacity it wasn't too crowded.  I thought Gatsby's garden was just weird when I found it.  The punchliner is also in a very strange location, well the entrance is anyway.  If you go to the steak house skip the surf and turf.  I got a piece of steak about the size of a golf ball and half a small lobster tail.  I was not a happy camper and made my displeasure known, which didn't help at all.

I'll be on the Bliss this thanksgiving and I will not be in the MDR eating mass produced turkey dinners 🤣🤣🤣  Got the Teppanyaki booked😋   

Unless you are working or can't stay off social media for more than 10 seconds you probably wont need to upgrade.  Do what Orcagirl suggested.  Logon, check what you need to check, do your intagram/facebook posts to make all your friends jealous😁, then logoff.  With 2 people on a 7 day cruise you get about 20 minutes a day each.  I check my email and stuff in the morning and again in the evening.  Just remember to LOGOFF each time.

Not sure we can get Quest.  I thought it was only avail in duty free shops.  I picked up a bottle at LAX last time I went to Oz.  I thought it was good, probably not worth the $100 I paid at the duty free.  Personally I prefer the 12yr sherry oak.

I don't think you can carry on hard liquor, it's just wine.

17 hours ago, dbrown84 said:

yeah, I'll have wait until an actual price list gets posted, but I'm going on the thought that they are probably charging $20 - $25 a shot.  We know it's more than $15.  I usually get a double and I'd probably go thru 2 doubles each day while hanging out in the cigar lounge.  I smoke at least one cigar a day when cruising.  I do also like Glenmorangie and I see it's on the regular list.  I find that the Macallan pairs better with my cigars.  Now the problem will be that I'll drink it all night while playing blackjack and craps because I'll feel like I got to get my money's worth 🙂

 

For me after a few puffs I might as well be drinking JW red 🥴.  Ok that's going too far🤣, no one should have to drink that. I did enjoy a nice 14yr Glenfiddich with a Montercristo last night out by the pool🥃 

And yea, there's definitely a tendency to over do it with these packages.  Probably not a good thing in the casino.  

8 minutes ago, dbrown84 said:

I've always canceled the drink package in the past, and just relied on the casino drink card.  Paying the gratuities on the drink package wasn't worth it for me.  Now, not only will I keep it, I'll probably upgrade to premium plus for the Macallan and Glenfiddich

You'll need to drink a lot of Macallan and Glenfidich to offset the $35 a day upgrade cost.  I like my single malts but I don't see that working out as a deal for me (and I drink a lot! 😁).  I can simply pay the difference over $15 if I want a better dram. And I can get Glenmorangie on the regular package which I prefer to Glenfiddich or the Glenlivet founders. The Quest is pretty good and JW platinum is a nice blend but then again so is Monkey Shoulder.  Yea, for me the extra $30 is a no go.  I always upgrade on Celebrity but it's only $10 a day, 2 drinks and it's paid for itself.

And seriously, why isn't basic bottled water included on the regular package 🙄

On 8/15/2021 at 2:36 PM, Cg52 said:

Celebrity all the way. The line is far superior. We used to sail NCL but they really started nickel and dimeing. Charging for steak in the MDR things like that. Celebrity has superior service, food and accommodations. I’d say the ports sound amazing.

True, but the price on a Celebrity cruise is typically way more than a comparable cruise on NCL, so you have a lot of nickels and dimes to upgrade your steak or eat at the specialties. The service on Celebrity is typically better, the ships seem less crowded but on the flip side if you like to party NCL has a lot more going on in the evenings.  We did a 7 day Celebrity out of LA a few years back and it was just over $4k, our upcoming Nov NCL 7 day out of LA is $2800.  So I have $1200 worth of nickels and dimes to upgrade my meals and ride the go carts 🤣

Pretty sure until the zombie apocalypse is well behind us there will be vaccine mandates.  Especially with the new variants popping up every other month and the new Lambda variant seems more able to infect vaccinated people. So lets hope that doesn't start spreading like the Delta. NCL seems to be dead set on 100% and that almost makes it an adult only cruise line right now since (in Cali) the vaccine isn't being given to kids under 12.

The cruise lines can't afford to screw this restart up and possibly get shut down again. So I don't see them allowing unvaccinated guests on until Covid burns out.  Some lines do allow a few like RCCL but then you have mask mandates, additional costs for testing etc. It will be interesting to see if those lines continue to allow unvaccinated passengers for much longer.

38 minutes ago, MaureenM said:

Just got back from the Edge and found out I was not allowed to book some of the snorkeling catamaran tours in Roatan because i was older than 65. Had no help from the Shore Excursion staff who could not explain why I could go on one of the catamaran snorkel tours and not the one I wanted to go on. The description was basically the same I just didn’t want lunch included. There is also a requirement that guests be under 260 lbs but no one checks that. 

The prohibitions are usually the tour operators restrictions and not Celebrity.  Don't assume "Nobody checks".  I have done at least 3 excursions where people were denied on the van/bus because they didn't meet some requirement.  2 of those were for weight (on zip-lining tours).  They had a scale as you stepped on the bus they weighed you. The other one was a bike tour and I have no idea why that person was not allowed to go.  

I read today 2 tourists were arrested in Hawaii for fake vaccination cards.

Yea pretty easy to print one if you wanted.  But the risks are significant if found out.  The cruise line would almost certainly kick you off the ship and it is actually a crime.  The Federal crime isn't faking the card its using the logo/seal.  Some states are also passing laws making it a crime and some of the potential fines are HUGE.  I think in NJ is up to 10 years in jail and up to $150k in fines.  I'm sure Florida will start selling cards in gumball machines for 25c if they lose the next court case.

The unauthorized use of an official government agency's seal (such as HHS or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)) is a crime, and may be punishable under Title 18 United States Code, Section 1017, and other applicable laws.

1 hour ago, DCGuy64 said:

Meaning there's no incentive to provide good service, since your server gets paid the same whether he/she brings your drink in 2 minutes or 30. Not sure I like that system. I go to Europe a lot and there the rule is generally just to round up, but I have to say I've sat thirsty in cafes many times where back in the USA I'd get prompt attention due to the possibility of a bad tip otherwise.

I find the service to be just as good if not better in Australia.  I cant think of a time where I got terrible service over there and I've spent a fair amount of time there.  I can however think of many times when I've had crap service here at home. Been to Europe many times too.  If I had to rate the the US would come last (unless you count France as a separately from Europe, that country sucks for service, and parts of Italy are not far behind). 

I just don't think the service people here care anymore.  They know a tip is coming it's almost a sure thing people will tip so they don't need to try. 

10 minutes ago, sasset said:

Sent mine in, expedited, and it was received by the Post Office in Philadelphia on 7/22. It was listed by the Passport Office as received 7/24. The website showed it 'In Process' several days later with a six week processing time. It didn't list it as having gone any place else. There is an assigned locator number but I don't see anyway to use that on the website. Does the locator number provide anymore information?

 

Last time I renewed, expedited, was in 2011 and the turn around then was only about three weeks.

 

Thanks

 You are just a few days behind me.  I saw the Approved notice this Monday with an expected arrival date of tomorrow, before that it said the same thing as you're seeing.

My new passport is "in the mail" according to the website.  I sent my renewal application mid July, They received it July 20th and I am supposed to get my new passport August 13th (tomorrow).  I paid for expedited processing and also 2nd day air shipping.  So for me it was only about 4 weeks.  I had also heard the horror stories of 18 weeks and was worried because I have a final payment due early Sept. (assuming the website isn't lying)

I prefer the Australian system.  No tipping.  It's so nice not to have to worry about tipping or additional tax.  The price on the menu is the price you pay. 

On cruises, I do find a buck or two to the bartender/server occasionally, can in many cases reduce your wait the next time you want a drink. So I take a stack of  $1's and $5's with me.

3 hours ago, hallux said:

The cards, however they're filled out, have been widely regarded as proof.  However - with the high incidence of students acquiring 'fake' cards in order to register for college, we may see a crackdown.

 

 

Using a fake card to board a cruise ship seems like a ridiculous thing to do.  Unfortunately there are a more than a few ridiculous people around that will probably do it.  I'm pretty certain if the cruise line found out they would drop your butt at the next port and ban you for life.  And if you contracted Covid, I seriously doubt they would pick up the tab to get you home.

I forgot to mention that you can (at least until the zombie apocalypse) order dinner (and lunch I think) from the MDR menu from room service. 

And there's the other "little things" like not having to check out towels, more comfortable beds, sheets and pillows, better lounge chairs  (although after the last refits the lounge chairs seem to be less "premium"). bigger bathrooms/showers than many other cruise lines. No constant announcements over the PA.  You normally get one a 10 am and when in port you will get some relating to the port/tendering etc, but other than that you need to check the daily program or app to find out whats going on.   It's also easier to find somewhere to sit in the buffet most of the time. Some of this stuff is ship dependent too, the older ships are showing some age now. I prefer the S-Class ships.  I have not tried the new edge class but friends that did try it didn't like it as much as the older ships.  I wish they had the boardwalk like on the newer NCL ships. Instead they put a stupid elevator on the outside of the ship lol. 

I sent mine in mid July (received on the 20th) and I just received an email today stating it's approved and should be delivered by Aug 13.  I paid for the expedited processing and shipping.  If it arrives on the 13th like they say, that would be about 4 weeks.  So if you need it, pay the extra 60 bucks for expedited.

I sail Celebrity quite a lot and typically prefer it over most of the other lines. So here's my 2 cents on the differences.

The night life on Celebrity can be dull sometimes but it really depends on the sailing.  The Sky Lounge is the typical late night "party" spot.  There's usually a band or DJ (or a Band then DJ) starting around 10 and they will play till the guest count drops off.  There's Quasor on the S-Class ships that has  DJ and plays modern music but that is rarely busy.  The Silent discos are usually PACKED and I much prefer the celebrity version to the NCL version.  I've seen conga lines that stretch all the way around the main foyer.   Early Evening the band is typically in the Main Foyer playing anything from 50's to mellow modern.  And one night there's typically a white party on the pool deck that usually attracts a good crowd.

I find the food on Celebrity better overall than NCL. Quite a bit better in the MDR, and a bit better in the specialties.  BTW most people don't realize you can "haggle" the price of the specialties. They normally have a guy standing outside the buffet trying to sell specialty dining. Offer him half the asking price and go from there.  I typically get around 30-40% off  (It's a flat rate fee in most of them). The buffet is close but again I think I'll give the nod to Celebrity for it's better quality.

As far as drinks, I do the upgrade on the drinks package because I like Single Malt scotch and I spend a fair bit of time at the Martini Bar and the World Class Bar. But the standard bevvy package includes ALL drinks up to $14 (I think), so water, soda, coffees smoothies etc. My wife is perfectly happy with the standard package.  Service can be slow especially at the Marinin Bar when it's packed and out by the pool it's sometimes hard to find a waiter when you want one. 1st world problems lol.

Someone mentioned more stratification.  It' really just the same as NCL,  Suites and everyone else.  The Aqua Class cabins do have a separate dining room and the food is better than the MDR but that's about the only useful perk of that class. It gets you nothing else of value. And I was told they created this class to help sell the less desirable cabins.  The Aqua Class cabins tend to be high and are often under overhangs from the pool deck or some such thing. So you get better food but a crappier cabin. I only sail Aqua class when I can find it close the cost of a regular veranda (on rare occasions it's less).

One other thing I like, they don't charge gratuity on the beverage package or specialty dining. And the daily gratuities are usually included too.  So the price you see is the price you pay (plus port fees and tax) . I hate the way NCL adds on gratuities to the packages you pick.

I like both lines. Celebrity is bit fancier, but NCL is a great line too (well except those older ships...)

9 hours ago, GenghisQuan said:

With the gradual reopening and recovery, I have been eyeing Mexican Riviera cruises, and notice that Norwegian Bliss is available as an option vs Majestic Princess.

 

However, I have had a previous extremely lackluster experience on board Pride of America, characterized by poor organization, bad food, too many guests and not enough space, the utter inability to actually dine freestyle due to lack of capacity in the dining rooms, and various other issues as noted here. I got the overall feeling that it's built that way on purpose so you'll shell out for extra services or to eat in the specialty restaurants.

 

So my question is, for those of you who like Norwegian, what do you like about it and think it does better than other mass market lines like Carnival, Royal, or Princess?

I typically cruise Celebrity but I've sailed the Bliss to Mexico twice and have another one booked for Nov.  The Bliss is a beautiful ship and the food and service are very good. There are plenty of places to eat and drink although on a full capacity cruise you should make reservations for the specialty dining prior to sailing.  I've never had a problem getting into any of the main dining rooms on the Bliss (there are 3 of them).

Of course my experiences were Pre Zombie Apocalypse and who knows what things will be now.  I'll find out in Nov if the US gov ever sends me my passport.....