GA Dave

I have a special "database" for what I wear everyday of my life.  Her name is Judy (my DW).    She hangs all my coordinated outfits in the closet as she irons them and I just pull whichever is hanging on the left.'

I am so spoiled! 

Usually this means it will be in drydock for refurb, or it may be rented privately.  Possibly for the Olympics in Tokyo???

From the Contract:

(c) Itinerary Deviation: The Guest agrees that the Carrier has the sole discretion and liberty to direct

the movements of the vessel, including the rights to: proceed without pilots and tow, and assist other

vessels in all situations; deviate from the purchased voyage or the normal course for any purpose,

including, without limitation, in the interest of Guests or of the vessel, or to save life or property; put

in at any unscheduled or unadvertised port; cancel any scheduled call at any port for any reason and at

any time before, during or after sailing of the vessel; omit, advance or delay landing at any scheduled

or advertised port; return to port of embarkation or to any port previously visited if the Carrier deems

it prudent to do so; substitute another vessel or port(s) of call without prior notice and without

incurring any liability to the Guest on account thereof for any loss, damage or delay whatsoever,

whether consequential or otherwise.

They will normally refund any port fees or taxes.  I do not believe there are any port fees for their own islands.

I have to wonder what will happen to the entire industry when the next world-wide recession hits.  I know my industry was hit really hard during the last one, as we produce "optional" products.  With the huge growth of the cruising industry in the last ten years, and all of the ships already in production/on order, you have to wonder if some ships will be parked/mothballed if a recession hits, kind of like the airlines due in the deserts of AZ and CA with their surplus aircraft during downturns.

45 minutes ago, newmexicoNita said:

That is exactly right and we have eaten in restaurants throughout the world. The amount of butter always starts out with just a few pats or  a small bowl, depending on the restaurant. If one needs more sometimes the wait person will auto bring it, normally one has to ask for more. 2 pats for 4 of course is not enough, but I have to question some of the information the OP posted in the first place. With this I am going to move on. I think the topic has been beaten to death and none of us can judge whether all OP mentioned is totally factual or just how she remembers it.

I got plenty of butter on the Getaway. 

On 5/21/2019 at 7:09 PM, trish99 said:

Mr. Worldwide, Toma and Rebellious Fish.   You'd think from the description that the Rebellious Fish would be very sweet, but it wasn't.   Quite delightful. 

I make Rebellious Fish at home.  I was a little shocked how much the ingredients cost, but my DW and I are worth it.  😁

2 hours ago, BirdTravels said:

NCL just got through investing significant $$$ to refirb all of the small ships. These were not cosmetic touch-ups, they were major overhauls. Now they are like a car you get from Carnax, drive them until they die. 

Yikes!  Would not want to be on the cruise when they "drive them until they die"!! 

27 minutes ago, Cm84 said:

If you look at the deck plan it still shows fat cats but it is nowhere to be seen in the bar list. It must be in place of that which is what they done on breakaway. Anybody got any updates on the refurb as they seem to be keeping this one very quiet but site now says 2019 refurb. 

Yes, I noticed that too.  When we were on last fall, Fat Cats was virtually empty most of the time.  This may be a very good change.

22 hours ago, cruisinmems said:

Ok, I have to ask this because I have read many threads trying to go both ways.  LOL  So is it better to be one of the first on the ship or one of the last off?

 

Maybe this needs to be a brand new thread:  Early on or late off.

YES!  Both.  Try to maximize all the possible time on the ship.  Since a "sleep-in-late day" for my DW is 5:00 AM'ish, we try to be at the port very early and just hang out in the security line meeting new people.  Our last cruise we were in the first group of people escorted on the ship, and the last ones off.  Very stress-free.

I like my own bowl of butter. 

I was searching around the internet for information on NCL’s new Project Leonardo ships that are due to be delivered between 2022 and 2027, and it got me to thinking about whether they will be retiring some of the smaller, older ships.  Currently, they are stating that the Leonardo ships are going to be in the 140,000 gross tonnage class, which makes them slightly smaller than the Breakaway class (145,655 tons), but significantly smaller than the BA+ class ships.  However, these new ships will be much bigger than the older, smaller ships currently in the fleet.  The longest they have ever operated a ship was the Starward at 27 years, and the Norway and the Sunward II at 24 years.  However, the more recent retirees (Wind, Dream, Majesty) were only in the fleet for 14, 16 and 12 years, respectively.  The current longest running ships are the Sun (18 years), the Star (18 years) the Dawn (17 years), and the Sky (16 years).  The oldest and smallest ship is the Spirit, built in 1998.

So, just looking for opinions:  What ships do you think they may retire in the near future, if any?

1 hour ago, Zippeedee said:

It was mentioned on the Getaway TA that NCL will be hiring something like 58,000 new employees in the next five years.  Their job opening list now is huge.  There are just not enough well-trained staff members for all of the ships, new and older.

 

 

I have to wonder if that huge number includes the employees they will need for the six Project Leonardo class ships they have on order from Fincantieri.  Based on the expected delivery dates, I would think it does.

Just as a comparison, I saw an article the other day that said there is an immediate need for over 250,000 truck drivers in the USA alone.

55 minutes ago, debgreg said:

On the bigger ships RCL have coastal kitchen for suite guests and a private sun deck but the solarium on both the Quantum and Oasis class are fantastic, they are open to all guests over 16 though , here is a link to suite perks

https://www.royalcaribbean.com/faq/questions/what-are-the-benefits-of-the-suites-program

Thanks for the link.

This might help.  From the Getaway, but the NCL standards are similar.

1 minute ago, Lupush said:

The only one that I've seen that comes close is "The Retreat" on the Celebrity Edge.  I'd imagine that Celebrity will be expanding this to all of their new ships and possibly retrofitting some of the older ones with it in dry dock.  

Thanks for the info.  I was checking prices for suites on CC and RCL vs Haven on NCL and they did not seem much less for a similar/same cruise.  Glad I know, as my wife would kill me if I said it was the same, but it missed.

Raspberry Guava Mojito.

20 minutes ago, Lupush said:

I prefer NCL because of the Haven product.  CCL has some interesting ships to me but their "suite" class is nowhere near to where the Haven is which is why I wouldn't book.  My wife and I tried a 4 night RCL out of Miami a few months ago and were not impressed.

I have had that question for a while.  I looked at both CC and RCL for their "Haven"-level cabins and did not find half the perks of the Haven mentioned on their sites.  Do any other lines have the completely separate area for suite-level guests like the BA and BA+ ships of NCL?  Separate restaurants, lounges, pool decks, sun decks, concierge, butlers?  I have seen many mentions to MSC's YC being similar to the Haven, but nothing about any of the other lines.  I know people mention some of the premium lines being all Haven-like, but we love having the mega-ship benefits of NCL's BA and BA+ ships, while still being able to escape to the Haven for that secluded feeling.  What do the CC and RCL suites offer?

Haven coffee maker setup.  Never used it on a seven-day cruise.

My wife and I bought quite a few things on our last cruise and actually had room to spare in our suitcases.  We used the linked space saver bags and actually had to be careful with the weight limit in our big suitcase that was only two-thirds full!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07445ZPYF/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I called NCL and they said they offer a bus from the airport to the port.  Has anyone used this service?  If so, did it drop you at the port gate, or take you to the ship?

I recently called NCL on another matter for our Sept. 2020 trip and asked if they offered any transportation from Rome to Civitavecchia.  The agent told me NCL offers a shuttle bus that goes from the airport in Rome directly to the port in Civitavecchia for $60US per person.  She said it takes between 90 and 120 minutes.

Big thumbs up!  Doing it again next year in the same cabin!!

10 minutes ago, tallnthensome said:

Wow! I would bet 100 to 1 that with most cruisers that wouldn't be the norm .......... But that is your personal choice of course. The people I spoke with on the Bliss that were in the Haven felt they were ripped off and felt obligated to stay in the haven most of the day for what they paid and didn't care for being enclosed in by the Haven pool out and away from the ocean air and views.  I could see getting a a mini suite with large balcony and spa passes as more than enough and with lots of cost savings. What is it exactly  that you would sail every other year versus 2-3 every year?

 

For us, the Haven feels like an exclusive resort within the ship.  The staff is absolutely amazing.  The food in the Haven restaurant is better than all of the specialty restaurants IMHO.  The sense of relaxation and seclusion we feel when we walk through that door into the Haven is well worth it for us.

My wife and I went Haven last time.  We will never go back to "normal" cabins again.  The Haven atmosphere and perks are just so worth it to us.  We decided we would rather save our money and cruise every other year in the Haven, than cruise 2-3 times a year in a "normal" cabin.  Our next cruise is really expensive, but it will definitely be worth the wait.

The bottles they give you are huge!  We had to give a few away at the end of our cruise because we just could not finish them.