Goldenknight

Reading comprehension skills are challenging for some. FYI, the snippet regarding the CC folks was from someone else's review of the Prima, not my review. And, it's totally separate from my own opinion that there are serial whiners who are never happy, be it the poor grammar NCL allegedly used in an email to them, or the lack of a specific alcohol on board. Finally, I don't consider this site "social media" at all. It's not FB, tweets, snaps or whatever that nonsense is called. Thanks for the "advice", though, that it is. FYI , there is another frequent traveler forum on which I have contributed for decades, it has over 750,000 members. Meanwhile, I had Earl Grey tea and a scone for breakfast today. 😄

+1 This is the most intelligent post ever, anywhere on this forum. Thank you. There is a reason I don't do ANY social media whatsoever, like FB. People seem to have unlimited time to "like" or "hate" millions of people's posts with little emojis. The negativity of serial whiners is reflected in someone's recent review of the Prima: ******* Other observations: This cruise included a contingent of folks from "Cruise Critic" they traveled en-masse and disrupted other passengers wherever they went. They were loud and obnoxious. Thankfully they only disrupted an area they took over for about an hour, then moved on to another venue. I now have a VERY negative opinion of these folks. ******* I ignore threads started by certain whiners who enjoy griping about every imagined slight. It's easy to also ignore the serial complainers. FWIW, I would write a positive review of the Prima, but why bother, and indeed have booked again for another 11 day sailing. . . . an amazing price in the Haven this time that was irresistible.

Thank you for your perspective. So far, every cruise has been with my spouse, or with spouse and adult daughter. Like you, always planning around what they prefer to do. Sometimes that means sitting through a Deal or No Deal game in the Atrium (**sigh**). No one buys game cards, but somehow it's "entertaining" to people watch. (*sigh*) We will go to the art auction once every cruise for the humor, but the "humor" in the Deal games escapes me. I need to try this solo cruising.

Spouse and I absolutely would never buy anything at ship art auction, but we always make a point of going to one for 15 minutes or so every cruise. It's better than the comedy shows on board. If it makes money for NCL, so be it. Good for NCL. It is unfortunate that the OL was closed, as those places are usually packed with people.

(1) I disagree . . . . no one is obligated to do anything, including "making up any deficiencies in the DSC." It's a business. (2) It's idealistic to suggest deducting from the DSC and then giving that same amount of money to stewards, waiters, etc. It's the "etc" part that is illogical. What about the crew who cleans public bathrooms, or the crew who wipes down elevator buttons and handrails, or the dishwashers we don't see?

I didn't intend to be stroppy in noting that the Siglo drummer's name is Jun. I think my spouse and I are just overly aware of the significance of names in other cultures. We live in a city where many of our neighbors are Filipino-American. We try out our Tagalog with the Filipino crew often, and they are graciously patient and correct us as necessary. Hence, in speaking with Jun, we knew his name had meaning, but that it's Jun. Funny story (maybe just to my spouse and me): there are many Indonesian crew. If they are from Bali, their names have significant meaning: typically, named according to birth order. So, there are many crew named "Gede". That means a first born boy (can also be called Wayan). At the "How to Run a Floating Hotel", DanDan asked for any positives from the audience. One guest said she wanted to thank Gede for his excellent service in the MDR. Dan politely thanked her. Later, in the MDR, we mentioned this to our lovely waiter. He laughed uproariously. He said if a supervisor asked to speak to Gede, 100 crew members would raise their hand

Adding a sixth thought to my original post above: (6) No matter what NCL may do to resolve a guest issue, some people may never be satisfied. (imagine the famous line from "The Merchant of Venice." 🙂) Sort of off topic about learning life lessons: we've been fortunate to have schnauzers in my family for decades. Our second schnauzer developed cancer in his rear leg, high up near the hip joint. The oncology veterinarian recommended amputation, and assured us it wouldn't impact the quality of that dog's life. He was right. Not long after recovery, that beautiful tripod dog was happily prancing on his walks once again, grateful to still be with his family. Sheer happiness for everyone, not just him. Well. Sometimes, nitpicking and whining consumes your life, eh?

Thank you to both "inside cabin" and "mk8288" for the information and screenshots. I don't recall getting any specific Memorial Day sale offer beyond what is posted on their site as a "header" at the top of their home page. I do get those monthly "insider" emails, but only scan quickly. Sailing on the Prima soon, rechecked the codes, and we are each getting more than 3 extra bonus points for this sailing. Because earning Latitudes points doesn't incentivize us, it is still great for our daughter, who gets to the last tier she wanted. Ooops, for the first time, I read the post from "mk8288" in the link to the other thread about these extra points. Yes, you even used the same adjective as me in your post from April: "crazy" amount of points earned. You noted you can get 60 Lat points for a 7 day cruise . . . . we are on an 11 day cruise. Again, we don't check for these point promos, so it's nice to get them, without even realizing that's what was booked.

We at a tier level now that makes earning lots of points on each cruise somewhat inconsequential - - - for us, anyway. So, our next cruise this year is soon on the Prima. Looking at the codes for this reservation, we are each earning a crazy amount of tier points per day. It's the most we've ever earned per day on any NCL cruise. Are these tier earning offers targeted to some cruisers only, or available to everyone who books directly through NCL? Just curious how this happened for this upcoming cruise because I didn't see it in my offers, via email , nor when logged in to my NCL account.

On one of our three cruises so far on NCL this year, we had cabin "concerns" when we embarked on day one. Everything was resolved gracefully and efficiently on that day. (1) It's not helpful to complain about it online, either during or after your cruise. Give NCL the chance to fix it. (2) No need to ever go to Guest Services. If you don't see your cabin steward in the hallway, just use the cabin phone. The steward's "handy phone" number is always on. (3) Because the stewards are also responsible for luggage delivery on embarkation day, it may be the asst deck supervisor who first comes to your cabin that day. NCL does everything possible to make guests happy, ALWAYS. There may be only one cabin service a day, but the stewards now have 24 "touches" of cabins per day, rather than the previous 30.

It's a stunning example of no self-awareness when a poster here doesn't want to acknowledge that it is indeed her silly comments about why they will loudly protest the level of daily service charges (it's not someone else's comments). Summary of their rant: "I know the daily service charge is posted all over NCL. I don't care, I will continue to choose NCL rather than another cruise line. I will then continue to rant about NCL and its' employees, whom are not worth that service charge of $20, but only worth $16.50, and then I will continue to lower it every single cruise." NCL will not miss you. Bye.

So revealing, the foot stomping occurring, not tipping more than the alleged "industry standard" and making a huge point to loudly remove any extra service charges beyond that "other" cruise line's posted percentage. Hint: Don't choose NCL, pick one of those other cruise lines. NCL won't miss you. If you can't afford it, stay home. 🤔

It would almost be hilarious, your remark to other posters, labeling their tipping decisions as throwing money around needlessly, but it's just not funny enough, given your screen name. I trust your "name" has nothing to do with gambling (THROWING MONEY OUT)

Well, his business card says: "Jun ________" . . . and his email. 🙂 Tagalog gives his name that meaning. Thanks. ☺️

+1 We're on the Prima for an 11 day cruise, and looking forward to this. Like you, we have reasonable expectations; plus, it's better than work!

+1 No one cares if I tip extra, I agree with you. A reason for someone's salty reply: (1) Not understanding the difference between a service charge and a tip. (2) The service charge is fully disclosed. If someone doesn't like it, it's simple: don't choose NCL. Choose another cruise line. Or, better yet, if you can't afford it, stay home. No one at NCL forced anyone to book with them. 😂

Drummer/lead singer in Siglo is named Jun. Not Junior. 🙂

In the MDR, the waiters have always inquired about allergies prior to taking an order. In the buffet, I suggest seeking out the head maitre d . . . on the Bliss, he was ALWAYS there every single time we visited the buffet. He is able to phone the Executive Chef and even the F & B manager, if necessary, although we saw both of them often at the buffet. We've always notified NCL in advance on their form regarding spouse's shellfish allergy, but it's worthwhile for us to speak to someone onboard in F & B. When we've been in the Haven dining room, the maitre d and waitstaff have always asked us to choose menu items a day ahead, so it can be specially prepared.

+1 Incidentally, when we were on the Bliss in March (this year), the Jersey Boys cast told us they were at the end of their contract, so a new group of talent started in April. But, at least two of the cast members from March were still in the May show.

We've attended the Broadway performances of both Jersey Boys (years ago), and Six (last year). IMHO, the Bliss shows were equally good in talent. We especially enjoyed the band, Siglo, who played both the Atrium and the Cavern. We like them more than the Beatles Experience. The four guys in Siglo have great showmanship, nice voices, and a set-list variety that changes with the venue.

My review will disappoint. . . I don't have a laundry list of grievances to share. Thankfully, there are other posters on CC that can fill in that gap. A few highlights (out of many): ** Outstanding cabin steward, a whiz at maintaining our cabin early morning each day, but a NICE person, above all else. ** Hilarious and upbeat MDR waiters, especially at breakfast. They are engaging and fun, whilst providing excellent service, no matter how busy. ** Those pastry girls! Saw them in both the buffet and in the MDR. If a song was requested, they obliged, to appreciative applause from the room. ** The assistant maitre d at the buffet always stepped in to help the buffet workers clear tables. Most revealing remark: she said "we're a TEAM." (Where I live, supervisors and the maitre d are apt to point to what needs to be done, rather than just do it). ** Exemplary service from buffet station chefs (we ate the buffet at least once, if not twice, a day). I hesitate to name just one, but a small example is one chef at the Indian food station, who personally made us poori (puri) any time, and brought it to our table. Yes, please. ** Those senior officers (different group than on our March Bliss sailing) - - - always accessible and pleasant (just like the March officers). ** A vice president from NCL Holdings was on board this week, whom I randomly met in our deck hallway . . . she remembered me because of questions we asked at a cruise Q & A meeting. We learned this V.P. of Fleet Operations is on board about every three months. ** Absolutely fabulous weather. Sunny, blue skies, all week. Very different than our Alaska cruise last September, which was rainy and gray skies. In sum, we appreciate the opportunity to cruise, the gorgeous Bliss, and the wonderful, engaging crew. Lucky us.

The simplest comment here needs to be reiterated: "Things happen. It's how they're handled that really matters." My first NCL cruise ever, back in 2019, we were sleep-deprived for a completely different reason: another passenger on our deck decided that his phone reception was stellar if he sat outside our cabin door every night, sitting on the floor. He talked LOUDLY, on + on. By night three, both the GM of the ship AND ship security handled that situation gracefully, and we never saw that passenger again. We asked for nothing, just happy to get sleep, but received thermal spa passes for the remaining days of our cruise. I sympathize with your situation, sorry it happened.

+1 There is a recent thread where a poster explains their current issue on board their cruise. The level of derision directed at this poster is not surprising. What IS surprising is the apparent bewilderment at being treated "differently" than others in allegedly "similar" situations. The poster in that recent thread noted the ability of NCL to "track" your every movement, whingefest, attitude, and whim. Having a "profile" shouldn't be surprising. You catch more flies with honey.

+1 IMHO, it's about self respect, or lack thereof. I'm reminded of the poster on one of my past cruises whining about the guest wearing a tank top and shorts to the Officer's dinner. Huh? Well, it's about being "comfortable", isn't it? Bunny slippers and pajamas instead of that tank top and shorts!

Does this include a baby? On the Encore last year, in the MDR (Savor or Taste) a family of six brought a baby with them. The baby was completely naked. Not even a diaper. That baby was placed on the booth seat multiple times before one family member decided to put a shirt on the baby (but no diaper). The maitre d noticed, he said nothing. Lysol spray maybe in the overhead sprinklers, for just this.